Song For You
by AkaBaka-chan
Summary: Rukia is the poor president of the crumbling music club and she needs one more member to save it. Enter Ichigo, mysterious transfer student, hottest boy in school and secret piano prodigy with a musically dark past, can these two help each other out?
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN BLEACH... I MEAN COME ON... WOULD I BE MAKING FANFICTION IF I COULD MAKE ICHIRUKI COME TRUE?**

**FULL SUMMARY: Rukia is the poor scholarship president of the failing music club and she needs one more member to save it but no one wants to join. Ichigo is the new transfer who becomes the hottest boy in school. Rukia finds out one secret before her life becomes royally screwed. Turns out, he's a piano prodigy who refuses to play the piano. He also happens to be the biggest jerk in the whole wide world. Can these two individuals help each other out or will they be unable to get past their hatred for each other. There's a twist, he becomes her new master.**

* * *

><p>The early morning sun crept in the dusted windows. It's light shown upon the mahogany furniture of the room as the sound of music resounded in the average confines of the area. After the sound of someone tuning their guitar was heard, they began to play a few chords. They kept strumming until they began to sing.<p>

"Ima ichibyou, hi ga moetara, sora ni tokete, asa ga kuru, nemuri kara, koe wo agete, mebuite yuku... Sekai. Ukeirerareta nara, mou kako dato, kizuketa... Daitetta, kanashimi wo, ikisaki wa... Kaze... Sora... Hoshi... Ame... Tatoeba... Kakenukete... Susunde-"

Then the music stopped along with the beautiful singing that had been accompanied by the guitar. The door suddenly slid open the the impact shook of some of the dust from the doorframe. The guitarist faced the door from the couch and grimaced. She sighed and stood up from her spot and placed back the guitar into the case. She placed the guitar against a wall and walked towards the door.

A tall and lean boy was leaning against the doorframe with crossed arms. The sunlight did nothing for his hair but make it more red than it already was. His hair was a mess since he always tied it messily. His mouth was a simple flat line and his eyebrows furrowed along with the tattoos above them. "Class is gonna start." he said blandly.

She stopped just a foot past him. "I know..." she replied harshly as she trotted of to the classroom. Her steps were the only thing heard in the hallway indicating that she was two minutes from being late. Her classroom wasn't that far off.

He smirked as he closed the door and followed after her from a distance with his hands buried deep in his pockets, admiring her.

She was beautiful.

She may not have the height nor any special endowments but she had this grace and elegance very few women could achieve. It was strange since she spoke like a man and cussed like one all the same. Her face was flawless, no makeup or anything false. She had these gorgeous amethyst eyes but calloused fingers from playing the guitar far too much but it was the one thing she was in love with. She had strong legs and a naturally fast metabolism so no matter how much she would eat, she wouldn't gain much weight. Her ebony haired swayed as she walked and she never slouched, she always walked with her head held up high. She always spoke with confidence, conviction and resolve. She rarely stuttered.

That was Fubuki Rukia, president of the failing Music Club. The school's only scholarship student. Her prized possession was a Gibson Les Paul she inherited from her departed older sister which came from an anonymous donor whose identity was never revealed to Rukia. After all, a guitar like that was far too expensive for someone who lived on multiple jobs with such meager pay. She had no family and she wasn't too well off financially. She lived in a rundown apartment that had only one room. She bought instant ramen for dinner and had to go to public communal baths to bathe. She was practically at borderline poor. No wait, she already was.

Rukia slid the door open and waited for her friend and fellow clubmate Abarai Renji to get to the door. He arrived soon and enough and closed the door himself after motioning Rukia to get to her seat first. He sat down after her and waited for their homeroom teacher to come in.

Her seatmate leaned towards her direction and smiled. Her chocolate brown eyes glistened under the beaming sunlight and her dark brown hair had appeared to be more hazel. Her hair was neatly tied into a bun. "Practicing again?" she asked in a conversational tone.

Rukia sighed and propped up her elbow against the table, her head had nestled nicely on her palm before she spoke. "And you don't practice enough... The bass isn't gonna play itself Momo." she retorted.

Hinamori Momo chuckled. "I do practice. Can we go back to our current predicament Rukia?" she replied, instantly changing the subject skillfully.

Rukia closed her eyes as though the sight of her best friend annoyed her. "You mean our currently nonexistent fourth member?" Rukia asked sarcastically.

"Exactly... I mean, we could be a band like Stereo Pony, just the drums, bass and the vocalist slash guitarist but no, school regulation states that a club must have at least four members and Nanao-senpai graduated." Momo stated rather bluntly.

Rukia's eyes shot open and glared at the woman. "Don't you think I know that all too well already? And we can't be Stereo Pony, they're all girls. Renji's a guy."

"Don't take that literally... Though if we do get four members, it would be cool to be like SCANDAL or ZONE! Oh, but Aqua Timez is kinda cool too!" Momo sighed.

"They only have one female member." Rukia retorted.

"Who cares? A band's a band! If we didn't understand that much then we might as well be AKB48 or Morning Musume!" Momo shot back as she withdrew from her position and leaned against the chair.

"AKB48? Renji?"

"..."

Then the two girls bursted into laughter and contributed more to the already present noise. The door suddenly opened and the class became as quiet as a cemetery. A stoic expressionless man came in the room and placed his belongings on the table. His gray eyes scanned the room before he spoke in his deep dulcet tone. "Order must be maintained at all times." he said

"Yes, Kuchiki-sensei." the class quickly replied.

For some strange reason, his eyes had lingered on Rukia and only Rukia seemed to notice that. She saw him close his eyes and shake his head softly. He had long black hair and an incredibly handsome face. Everybody knew he was the grandson of Kuchiki Ginrei, the richest man and most powerful tycoon in Japan. The Kuchiki Zaibatsu was huge yet why Kuchiki Byakuya chose to become a teacher was incomprehensible to all who knew him. This man just had to be class 2-A's homeroom teacher.

The class rose and bowed when the class representative said so and greeted him good morning in which he greeted them back. "Good, take your seats now. I have some shocking news today and if you would all pipe down I'd tell it." he said and the class became silent once more.

"We've got a transfer student... Be nice to him... And stay quiet."

The door slid open and a new face entered the room. The first thing Rukia noticed was a full complete head of orange tangerine hair. He had high cheekbones and a rather sharp jaw. He was relatively handsome and he would be more handsome if he wasn't scowling. He came in and wrote his name on the blackboard. As soon as she saw his name, she wanted to laugh. His name read Ichigo like strawberry but it was spelled 'one who protects'. This guy was hilarious already.

He threw in a smile and with that smile, he was officially the hottest boy in school.

"Yo, the name's Kurosaki Ichigo. Nice to meet ya." he said before the room erupted into fangirl screams and squeals. Rukia wanted to die with all the searing noise. Byakuya sighed as he pointed towards an empty seat behind Rukia. "Kurosaki... You may sit behind Fubuki."

Ichigo nodded charmingly as he strode up to his seat and took a seat cooly. "Hey, nice to meet you Fubuki-san." he greeted Rukia.

Rukia sighed. "Nice to meet you too... I'm Fubuki Rukia." she replied uninterestedly before facing front once more and ignoring Momo's 'how dare you ignore such eye candy' glares.

He smiled and leaned back as homeroom  
>began shortly after that.<p>

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><p>How? How could one person be so popular after a couple of hours? It was unfathomable and inhuman. One smile and one word from him made all the other girls, minus the sensible ones melt and go weak kneed. There were around eight hundred to one thousand students at this school. Nearly half of this female student body loved him already. It was terrifying so Rukia quickly escaped to the music room and began playing some tunes with Momo and Renji.<p>

They were doing fine when Rukia stopped singing all of a sudden. She turned around, stomped and glared at Renji. "What's wrong with you? You got that phrase wrong! It's goes dun dun dun bam! Not dun bam dun dun bam!" Rukia yelled at him.

Renji groaned angrily. "Yesterday, you said the exact same thing, just vice versa. What's up with you today?" he shot back.

Rukia massaged her temples furiously and sighed fitfully. "That orange headed freak of nature... He's pissing me off, I can't stand it."

Renji smirked. "I know what you mean."

"Well I don't!" Momo yelled at the both of them as her bass made an odd sound. Probably from when she threw her hands to the air in a fit if rage. "Kurosaki-kun is hot! Handsome! Gorgeous! Why can't you see that Rukia!"

Rukia and Renji rolled their eyes. "Oh shut up... Carrying on from that line."

Renji's drumsticks hit against each other thrice before they resumed that phrase. They were sounding good again. Rukia stepped forward towards the mic while strumming. "Kikoete, kikoete, nariya ma ni no nara... Shinjite, susunde, kokoro no sakebi wo, namida no omosede... Kuzu reso ni natte mo mou ichido... Mou ichido, ka wo... Agete..."

Then after doing one final riff, they ended. Rukia sighed. "There, perfect!" she said contentedly.

Renji wanted to lean back before remembering that there was no leaning back. He was on a stool. He stretched upward while spinning a drumstick on one hand. "Damn... We need a new member or we'll get disbanded." Renji said bitterly.

"It's been a miracle that we managed to get away with this for so long." Momo added as she played a cool jazzy riff on her bass by reflex.

"True... Forget it... Let's try Supercell?" Rukia suggested.

"Which one?" Renji asked as he randomly pressed against the kick-pedal.

"Perfect Day... Let's play that one." Momo suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Rukia grinned into the microphone as she began with slow guitar chords before entering into the first line. Her hand slowly changed frets and notes while her other hand kept strumming.

"Dare mo inai douro de  
>Ryoute wo hiroge aruita<br>Me wo tojite kara watashi wa sotto  
>Kokoro no naka de<br>Chiisana kake wo shita nda

Hakusen kara ochitara make  
>Mukashi konna no yatteta<br>Ahh~  
>Nanka natsukashii na<p>

It's a perfect day  
>Hikokigumo hashitte oikaketa<br>Itsuka te wa todokutte  
>Sou shinjiteita kedo<br>Sora wa amari ni tookatta kara  
>Chippoke na jibun ga kanashiku omoetanda<p>

Omoetanda..."

Rukia smiled as she played the last and final chord while her two other companions ended as well. She turned around and gave the thumbs up. "That was perfect." she said happily.

Momo giggled. "Feeling any better?" she asked.

Rukia nodded. "Yeah... I do... However... He's friggin behind me... He's gonna stay there for the rest of the school year... Why is it when I finally get a back seat near the window there has to be some... monstrosity behind me." she groaned.

Momo and Renji laughed. "Yeah, sure you're alright." they said simultaneously.

Rukia shot them a glare before walking to the amp and turning it off before unplugging the wire. She placed her guitar back in it's case. Renji took his drumsticks and stuck them in his bag while Momo followed Rukia's example.

They left their beloved music room.

* * *

><p>"Class dismissed."<p>

Then with that, their teacher left. The students stood up and began talking and getting ready to head home. Some had club activities and some had committees. Others were just ready to procrastinate in the weekend. Rukia on the other hand had some plans to practice with Renji. Momo had a family affair so she couldn't come so it was just her and Renji. Rukia had just finished putting her books in her bag when she felt someone touch her shoulder.

Rukia quickly looked back and found a familiar face.

"What's wrong Renji?" she asked in a concerned tone since he looked rather pale.

He swallowed thickly. "My mom's in the hospital... Heard she collapsed... Dad won't be home in a while so I need to go in his stead... He's too far away and all and-"

Rukia put a hand in front of his face and smiled. "You don't need to explain anything. It's an emergency, band practice can wait." she said pleasantly and that brought a smile to his face.

He grinned like an idiot. "Thanks for understanding." he said before storming out of the classroom with his bag. His drumsticks were sticking out of them.

Rukia sighed. "I'll just have to lock up then."

Rukia slung the bag over her shoulder and began walking towards the music room. It was stressful. This was an average public school so everybody didn't have the money for instruments nor the time for it. Rukia had already searched the school from head to toe and found no one who was the least bit interested in learning how to play or at least someone with some music experience aside from the recorder every student knew how to play because of elementary. The only one who cared about the club was the three of them. Not even their music teacher slash homeroom teacher slash club moderator cared. Kuchiki-sensei probably didn't know how to play a guitar or the piano at all. After all, all Kuchikis were trained for business from the moment of conception.

There was no more hope for the music club she loved. It was her departed sister Hisana who instilled into her the love for music. There was a reason why Hisana played the guitar but she wouldn't tell Rukia. The reason for her playing the guitar also provided her the guitar and Rukia would never know the donor.

Rukia sighed as her favorite place was in sight. She was only two feet away from the door when she literally froze on the spot. She could hear the unused piano being played. Rukia closed her eyes and listened some more. It was an extremely intricate piece... Chopin? No, it's more aggressive than Chopin... Rachmaninov? Bach? Mozart? Liszt? No no no...

Holy shit... This piece is Alkan. This intricacy... It's the Grande sonate Les quatre âges.

Who is it? She knew every person at school and no one, not one person knew how to play the piano... No this is way much more than just that. Who is this person who can play a piece written by The Charles-Valentin Alkan? The genius musician? Who could play a piece by Alkan, the composer whose pieces made pianists cry learning them. Who?

Rukia slid the door open with great urgency.

She wasn't anticipating this. The first thing she saw in the sunset lit room was orange hair that matched the sky. His fingers move with such skill and such finesse. No one his age could perform the Grande sonate with such perfection and mastery. It was as if he had been practicing this very piece his whole life. He was so indulged in his own music that he failed to notice Rukia. His fingers kept going at a inhumane rate. How could he not make a mistake in a nine minute torturous piece. He was already a minute away from ending.

Rukia's eyes were closed as she listened to him play. Every note, every sharp and every flat enchanted her. It kept pulling her into the music. Rukia found herself slowly being taken by the music and losing herself. She could feel every emotion. Strangely, as grand as the piece was, all she could hear from his version was sadness, angst and anger. He was already pouring his heart out. This piece was about conquering or prevailing to the dark side but she felt and heard none of that. His version was all about losing himself into the darkness. Down to the deepest abyss where light could not reach it's dark confines.

She heard the final part and after one conclusive note, the sound resounded in the room. He lifted his head and saw her looking at him. His eyes widened instantly and the piano bench made a shrill sound as he stood up abruptly. "How long have you been there." he demanded angrily. The Kurosaki Ichigo standing before her was not the charming sweet dream boy from earlier. There was something dangerous and dark about him.

Rukia swallowed thickly. "About three minutes or so..." she simply replied as she felt the hostile nature of his current aura.

"I assumed no one would be here... Sorry for using the piano, you have club activities yes? I'll be taking my leave now, I'm sorry to disturb you." he said as he quickly grabbed his stuff and walked off.

Rukia was sure he didn't even have sheet music.

Rukia quickly turned around and was met with his rather broad back. "Wait!" she said.

He stopped but he didn't turn around. She could tell that he didn't want to talk about it with every fiber of his being but she was desperate. He was her only chance. "Yes? Fubuki-san..."

"That piece... That was Alkan's Grande sonate Les quatre âges correct? You... You're amazing... That piece is like child's play for you... It was perfect.. Every phrase, every measure... You didn't even have sheet music and although the emotions were kinda wrong, I believe that's your unique way of playing this particular piece."

He paused. He was a bit intrigued by one thing she said. "What do you mean by the emotions were wrong?"

"Alkan's Grande sonate is about conquering one's dark side... All I heard and felt was you giving into the darkness... I know you understand the story behind this piece... What intrrigues me is why you choose to fall into your own darkness rather than conquer it like what the piece implies."

"Is that all you have to say Fubuki-san?" he asked in a dry voice. The way he was speaking to her now was so different from earlier in the day. It was somewhat terrifying.

Rukia took one step forward. "No, it's not. Actually... The music club is in a bind and I need one member to keep it running... So I'm asking if you want to join."

"The answer's no."

"Why? You're an excellent pianist."

"I swore never to play the piano again." he said bitterly.

Rukia's eyebrows scrunched upwards. "You were playing it just now..."

"Is it weird if I said that when I saw that piano, it seduced me to play it? I don't know what happened to me but.. I suddenly felt like playing it again and as I was playing it, I swore to my very soul to never touch it again..." he said darkly. "Once again, the answer is no..."

Rukia took more steps forward. "Please! I... I love music too much to give it up and I love this club way too much! You don't need to play! Just... Just be a member... That's all I ask.. I've already asked the entire student body... You're my last chance! Because... Without this club... I won't be able to play anymore... All I have left is my guitar... The school provides most of the equipment... So..."

"I'll do anything." Rukia added in a choked strangled way.

Rukia was now directly behind him. "Anything?" he asked.

"Absolutely." she replied with conviction.

All Rukia knew was that she was standing behind him, his back facing her. Before she knew it, the door was close and she was being pinned down against it. His bag had fallen to the nearby floor along with hers and his hands had bound her wrists against her will. What the hell was he doing? She couldn't move... She couldn't move at all.

"You claim you'd do everything for the sake of music? Are you prepared for it's consequences?" he asked dangerously. The way his amber eyes burned terrified her. His was only a few mere inches away from her. "Answer me." he demanded. What happened to the nicest guy on campus?

"Wh-what are you going to do?"

"Answer my question first." he replied assertively.

Rukia swallowed thickly as her heart raced with fear. She was alone with a boy who had her pinned against the door. "Yes... It's my dream and my life... And it's the only thing I have left of my departed sister."

Before she knew it, he was smirking. "Oh? Such an interesting answer from such an interesting girl..." he said cruelly.

"I don't understand what you mean." she replied.

"I was right when I thought you were different... You are different as compared to all those other bitches... Yeah, they fawned all over me like I was their prince charming... You intrigued me however... How come this girl sitting in front of me didn't even bother to look at me... Or rather, she even hated me..."

"Let go of me!" she yelled at him helplessly but that only served to excite his interest in her even further.

His face was now a centimeter away from hers. "Shall I tell you a secret Rukia-chan?" he whispered in the harshest way possible. "I'm actually extremely rich... I'm sure you've heard about the Kurosaki Pharmaceutical in Germany? Yes? Well my old man sent me back to Japan to some dingy public school to learn some manners... All I have right now is enough money to graduate high school and an empty apartment with everything I need to simply live. A bed, a small kitchen, a small bathroom and a small living room with some cheap television set..."

He went to her ear and licked the shell of it. "So yes... I'm the classic spoiled rich boy... My father's extra punishment for my bad attitude was that I'm not allowed to have any maids or butlers and I'm not really used to that... If you're that desperate to have me join... Why don't you become my maid?"

"E-excuse me!"

"You heard me Rukia-chan... Be my maid... I'll pay you good... I mean... My father doesn't know about by my other bank account so I still have tons of money... And I also heard you were rather poor... You could be using some good money right now... Am I right Rukia-chan?"

"I won't... Even I have my own pride and dignity to keep!"

"Hmm? I don't think you have the pleasure of having to think about your dignity at all... I mean, I'm offering you to work for me for a good sum of money. If you accept my offer, I'll join your silly club... See, the only thing sacrificed is your dignity."

"And what do you get out of this?" Rukia replied angrily. There had to be a catch to this.

"There's always this..." he said evilly as he held her wrists with only one strong hand now and he used his free right hand to cup her chin and force her to look at him.

Ichigo surged forward and captured her lips forcibly. His assault was relentless and she felt her own body go limp because of him. She felt helpless, this was completely against her own free will. He was being rough and harsh, he was doing this for his sake and his sake only. He shoved his tongue and and Rukia let out a muffled gasp. His was forcing her to responded but the strange thing about everything was that he could've been much more severe...

He was actually holding back.

The was his tongue played with hers made her moan uncontrollably. The way he kissed her made her respond. Her tongue began to battle with his and she felt his mouth curve into a smirk. Ichigo began to unleash his full assault just when they were about to be on equal level. He was forceful and powerful and Rukia's legs were ready to suddenly give away.

He then pulled back looking rather smug. "Now then... Call me master like a good maid."

Rukia blushed furiously and averted his gaze. "Hell no..."

"Oh? Being disobedient are we? Why don't we put it this way. I forced a kiss on you and you kissed back... Yes, you probably hate me the most right now. Ah the shame of kissing back... Hmm... First kiss was it? Oh, what a shame..." he teased mercilessly and that was adding to her increasing embarrassment and shame. If only she restrained herself a bit more.

"Yeah... You jerk, that was my first kiss..." she seethed but she still refused to look at him.

"Really? I honestly thought you and red pineapple head were an item... Guess I was wrong..." he said casually before smirking madly. "Now then... My offer still stands. If you work for me, you get both financial support and my membership but if you choose otherwise then you'll have to keep making do  
>with your meager pay and you won't be able to keep you club... All you have to do is serve and entertain my bored handsome self and it's a win-win situation."<p>

She glared at him at full force, that was a scary glare. "You're an asshole."

"That I know... But no one's gonna believe you..."

"I don't understand you at all! You put on a fake show in front of everybody... At least I know that much is fake but who are you really... Kurosaki the asshole or that Kurosaki who was playing Alkan... Music never lies."

"I never asked you to try... That's not in the job description my dear Rukia-chan." he replied smugly.

"Can you let go of me now?" Rukia demanded angrily.

He paused. "I suppose." was all he replied as he released her. Rukia instantly slumped down to the floor.

Ichigo pulled a nearby chair and sat down, crossing his legs like the rich bastard her was. "By the way, I took the liberty of adding my number to your phone... Don't even ask when I did that, I won't tell you. So when you feel like accepting my offer, give me a call."

"What!"

"Don't be so shocked... You know what, you can always call me if you want to hear the sound of my lovely voice."

"Vain asshole..."

He laughed. "Now that's the spirit... The more you squirm, the more entertaining it is for me... Try googling me, you'd be surprised with what you can find... Oh wait, do you even have Internet much less a PC?" he mocked.

"Shut up... I use the school's computer lab." Rukia retorted.

"Hah! You really are poor... I seriously pity you..." he laughed at her all high and mighty-like before standing up and grabbed his bag from the floor.

He opened the door and smirked at her like the jerk he was. "You taste delicious by the way."

And with that he left.

Rukia felt a whole lot of self disgust. She rubbed her lips as though it would erase his kiss. Her first kiss had to be with some jerk and she couldn't do a thing about it. His offer was practically but it was against everything she believed in. Would she sacrifice her pride and dignity to achieve what she had wanted and needed the most?

If she told Momo, would Momo even believe her?

"Damn... I hate him... He could die and rot in a gutter for all I care... Yeah, go fuck yourself Kurosaki..." she seethed as she stayed curled up on the floor.

* * *

><p>Rukia lied on her futon, her eyes constantly lingered towards her phone. Call or not to call. Dignity or practicality. Why did she have to endure such things. She even took his advice and googled him and he had quite the reputation in Europe. He was extremely smart and he could speak a number of languages. He was always at clubs and parties and based on a lot of blogs and stuff like that, he enjoyed screwing around with girls. He had huge reputation with the ladies and he won a piano competition when he was nine years old, a prodigy as it were but he stopped playing and google didn't know why.<p>

Rukia closed her eyes. The true Kurosaki Ichigo boggled her. Was he Kurosaki the rich playboy or Kurosaki the pianist.

Rukia sighed as she wanted to strangle herself with what she was about to do. She found his number and was annoyed with how he labeled himself Master. She changed it instantly to Asshole and clicked the call button. She pressed it against her ear and waited for him to pick up, which he did.

"Hello?"

"Hey... Jerk..."

She heard him laugh. "How nice of you to call your beloved master Rukia-chan."

"Shut up asshole..."

"And? Yes or No?"

"I chose..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yo~ here's another insane story from yours truly AkaBaka-chan... Hmm... I really like that penname and I don't want to ever changed it. Guess I got too attached to my nom de plume.<strong>

**Maybe you're like, not another chapter fic Akabaka-chan! Yeah, I know but I've been dying to write this fic since chapter 10 or was it 13 of my more active fic … Yeah…. I mean, I know this is number three and I still have my active fic to work on but that one's nearing it's end…. Yeah…**

**Ah well, regardless... Tell me if this fic is worth a shot~ should this be rated M for explicit content but no sex will be involved? So yes, all you ecchis, deal with it. I mean... Heavy Petting is a bit too much for rated T... I dunno, I'm keeping it T... okay fine... light petting...**

**By the way Fubuki means winter blizzard. Some might complain, what happened to the Kuchiki? I mean, don't we all love Kuchiki and I love that too far more than I really should but I have a plan.**

**The song Rukia was singing at the start is Glow by Fumiko Orikasa and Masakazu Morita**

**The song Renji flunked is listen to One story by: Fumiko Orikasa and Ryotarou Okiayu... Yeah, I think that's the name of Byakuya's Seiyuu**

**The song after that is Perfect Day by Supercell.**

**As I stated earlier, the piece Ichi was playing was Grande sonate Les quatre âges composed by Charles-Valentin Alkan. Try listening to him on YouTube, I don't play the piano so it looks like it's beyond murder. It's truly scary**

**So Scandal is a popular all female four member band known for singing songs for FMA Brotherhood, Bleach and Star Driver: Kagayaki no Takuto. My favorite band ever...**

**Zone was the most popular four member all female band but they're not as new as Scandal. Their really awesome and are known for their song Secret Base Kimi ga Kureta Mono. Extra Fact: Scandal was the first all female band to top the oricon ever since Zone. In other words. Zone's like a legend now.**

**Stereo Pony has three female members on drums, bass and guitar/vocalists. Known for singing songs for Gundam 00, Bleach and Tegami Bachi Reverse**

**AKB48- as the name suggests, they are indeed 48. Japan's most popular girl group since they always keep topping the Oricon**

**Morning Musume is my personal preference over AKB48 but it's been a while since they made a single that reached number one. They're also very popular but this tenth generation Mosume isn't as outstanding as the previous generation.**

**Aqua Timez is a band know playing sings for Bleach, star driver: Kagayaki no Takuto and many other animes**

**So yeah...**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: PLEASE, I NEED TO BE KUBO HIMSELF….**

* * *

><p>"Use your tongue." he demanded hoarsely as he kissed the ever loving daylights out of her.<p>

She gripped his collar even more and her grip was where all her anger went. Displeasing him was not the safest move considering that he was willing to pay her one hundred thousand yen just to serve and entertain him. After much reluctance, she used her tongue. She hated how his mouth curved up to a smirk. Kissing was like child's play for him so her futile efforts only added to his sadistic entertainment. If this was all she would ever do then she could live with that... Until graduation.

No, she took that back. He was only playing along with her so the moment he took the lead again, her sanity went out the window. She didn't like feeling these weird feelings when he kissed her like this. How shameful, what has gotten into your head Fubuki Rukia? Financially, she could make do without this job but when it came to her precious club, he was the only one who could save it. She absolutely loathed that one single fact.

He withdrew just to speak. "Now then, straddle me and call me master." he said smugly.

Rukia flushed red and stayed silent.

"Just do it already... The faster you do it the faster you'll get home unless you want to take my other offer of living here." he said assertively.

First he asked her to kiss him on his bed now he wants her to straddle him? He's even worse than an asshole. He was the devil's incarnate and no one would believe her if she told that to the world. Well... Maybe Germany would. His family had sent him here to learn some manners, which meant that they knew about his attitude. Rukia forced herself to straddle him. Her face was still flushed.

"M-master..."

"More conviction." he demanded.

"Master."

"Good... Carrying on." he said smugly as he himself grabbed the nape of her neck and mashed their lips together.

Why do people find so much pleasure in another's suffering and torture?

Even she wasn't spared from enjoying the pain of others.

Ichigo continued to overwhelm her. The moans she tried so hard to hide and keep were music to his ears. It was a first to find a woman who wasn't the least bit interested in him which was probably why he enjoyed torturing her so much. Ichigo didn't stop kissing her until she slipped up and let out a proper moan. She quickly redrew and covered her mouth in embarrassment as he simply smirked at her.

"That's my Rukia-chan, you can leave after cooking me dinner." he grinned evilly as Rukia got off of him.

Rukia sighed as she fixed herself and ignored the lingering sensations of his kiss. She walked up to the kitchen and began to prepare the ingredients she bought earlier on the way to his place.

What did she do deserve this?

Last night, she decided to try it out and say yes. He never said she couldn't back out but after hearing her salary, she couldn't help it. Also, he promised to stay in the club for as long as she worked for him. She was the only one who'd have to sacrifice something. It's not like she had never made any sacrifices before.

This morning was really bad too. She had to deal with his nice guy alter ego but when they were alone, he would let his personality show and true to his word, he never even went near the piano and he didn't even touch it. Renji was dismayed by his membership and Momo was ecstatic. Kuchiki-sensei honestly didn't care. He may know all the notes and every technical term for music but he didn't love his own subject and not once had he ever played an instrument for them. Ever.

Worst music teacher ever.

Rukia sighed even more as she turned on the stove and let the water boil before she added the instant miso soup powder she got in a promo. What did she do to ever deserve this? She was a straight A scholarship student and she practiced everyday. She didn't do anything to be hated by anybody much less hold grudges against anybody except Kurosaki. She didn't have enemies, she didn't bully people and she was a hard worker. Or at least, that's what all her bosses said, about her being a hard worker that is. She eventually learned how to cook because her jobs demanded it and besides, back when she could still afford ingredients, it was cook something edible or starve.

RukIa finally finished twenty minutes later and brought him a tray. Despite what he said about getting a cheap apartment, it wasn't exactly her definition of cheap. It was standard middle class expensive and was something beyond what she could ever afford in her lifetime. His cheap television set wasn't cheap at all, it just wasn't some wide screen TV and it wasn't HD or anything like that. His apartment was still kind of impressive and he's still complaining. At least he had a bed; all she had was a futon and one single room. He had three rooms, the bathroom, the living room and the bedroom.

He was simply watching TV when she saw him. He looked like any other teenage boy but then when he turned around, reality came back and she remembered the fact that he was some rich asshole from Germany. The Internet had spoken for him, he truly was rich. It's fine, they were halfway through the second year of high school, she just needed to endure senior year and she would be free of him.

Rukia laid the tray down. Ichigo saw it and smiled at her. "Thank you, cooking is beyond me." he thanked and that made Rukia doubt his little show of gratitude. He sounded like a nice guy.

"It's been a while since I had a Japanese meal." he commented as he took the chopsticks and did the classic 'itadakimasu'. He was about to eat but then stopped. "This is just for me... Don't tell me you only made dinner for one, why do you think I gave you extra money? I'm not that heartless that I'll let my precious maid to starve." he grinned and placed emphasis on the maid part.

Rukia cringed. "Don't bother being nice... I still have some instant ramen at home... Now if you'll excuse me young master, I need to get home..." she said bitterly as she picked up her bag.

He laughed at her last statement. "Be safe Rukia-chan... I can't lose my one and only source of entertainment in this boring Karakura Town..."

Rukia closed the door and sighed.

"Asshole... Who are you really?"

* * *

><p>Rukia had dark circles under her eyes as she walked towards school; her guitar was strapped onto her back. She met up with Momo and greeted her best friend with a smile. Momo inquired about why she looked so tired but Rukia just responded by saying it was he part time job. As soon as they got to the gate, the entire female student body was following the jerk again. Rukia cringed as she tried to walk past the crowd while dragging Momo with her.<p>

Amethyst eyes met amber ones by accident and he winked at her. Rukia scowled heavily as she knew what that obviously meant and stormed off even more. She was so thankful Momo didn't notice. She just needed to endure this for a few more months then she'll find some freshman who could at least play the piano and was interested.

"Hey! Earth to Rukia... What was that all about? Why did he wink at you?" Momo asked.

Damn, she did see it.

"Probably saying thank you for letting him join the club." Rukia replied.

"No, we should be the one's saying thank you. I mean, he saved us and all... Gosh, he really is nice. I wish I had a boyfriend like him." Momo's sighed.

"Yeah, don't we all. Come on, let's drop our instruments at the Music room then be on our merry way..." Rukia said as she opened her shoe locker and switched her shoes.

Momo did the exact same thing and they went upstairs simultaneously. They found the music room and placed their instruments carefully in a corner and locked the room afterwards before heading to the classroom. "Hmm... What instrument does Kurosaki-kun play anyway?" Momo asked.

Without thinking, Rukia answered. "Piano."

Momo looked at her weirdly. "How do you know that?"

Rukia bit her lip and mentally slapped herself for that small slip up. Technically speaking, she wasn't supposed to know that much less tell Momo. "I'm just guessing... He looks like he plays the piano." Rukia replied making a quick recovery. Her answer made sense.

Momo nodded in agreement. "It's possible."

Ichigo was already in the classroom, he flashed Rukia a smile. "Good morning Fubuki-san..." he only intended to greet Rukia but it would be suspicious since she was the only girl he greeted the whole morning. He decided to greet Momo as well. "Good morning Hinamori-san..."

Momo wanted to faint while Rukia wanted to puke all over he 'beloved master' projectile style. Rukia sat down in front of him casually and greeted him back in the same casual manner. "Good Morning Kurosaki-san..."

Momo greeted him back as she sat down and gave Rukia the fangirl look as she leaned back on her chair. Rukia was also leaning back on her chair and Ichigo's head was flat against the table. If he said anything, only she would hear it. "How's my Rukia-chan?" he asked.

"I'm not your Rukia-chan." she replied as she looked back to face him under the pretense that he didn't understand some part of his homework.

Ichigo pointed his pencil towards a certain section of the notebook. "Technically speaking, I'm your master. This makes you my maid... See it's as simple as that."

"Shut up you jerk, what do you intend to do during club activities?" she asked as she erased the doodle he was making.

He smiled but she knew he wanted to smirk. "Song Writer... I can sing too and I can play a little guitar... I'll just buy one later if you want..."

Rukia nearly banged on his table. "Are you an idiot! Guitar's are expensive, don't waste money!"

He shrugged. "I'm rich." he whispered. "By the way Rukia-chan... You said that out loud..." he said.

Rukia flushed red and looked around her. All the girls were glaring at her for shouting at him while Momo was kinda surprised. Rukia gave her best friend the 'don't ask' look. Renji was giving Rukia the thumbs up. Rukia cursed silently as she furiously rubbed her temples.

"Why didn't you stop me asshole..." she seethed quietly. "Moving on, you can be vocals if you want..." Rukia offered.

"Because you look so cute and adorable when you're mad... By the way, head straight away to my place. No detours." he said as he wrote some random doodle on the paper.

"Ah! I get it. Thanks Fubuki-san!" he said out loud. Rukia sighed as she faced forward again. Dealing with him was already tiresome.

"Can't wait to taste you my maid..." he whispered.

Rukia blushed furiously and buried her head in her arms and pretended to sleep. Why was she the only to be subjected to such torture? It was truly unfair. She didn't feel like a maid, she felt like his slave. This was already sexual harassment... Well bordering sexual harassment.

* * *

><p>Rukia was first to go to the music room. Renji and Momo had to cleaning duty and they wouldn't be finished for another thirty minutes. She was sitting with an acoustic guitar she had won in a music store promo. She didn't need it since she already had an electric guitar but she figured why not. She could sell it any given time. She played a few chords and began to singing.<p>

"Ima Ichibyou... Hi ga Moetara... Sora ni Tokete... Asa ga Kuru... Nemuri Kara... Koe wo agete... Mebuite Yuki, Sekai... Ukeirerareta nara... Mou kako dato... Kizuketa..."

"What's that song? I've never heard it before?"

Rukia stopped playing, she didn't bother greeting him or at least face him. "I wrote it myself... It's called glow."

He walked and sat next to her on the couch and took her sheet music. He looked at it before placing it on the piano and sitting down. He looked at it for another full minute before playing it.

Rukia was wide eyed as she watched him. Was he transcribing the entire thing into piano form on the spot? That is incredible... But he said he wouldn't play. "I feel like playing all of a sudden but I won't play in front of other people... You already know my secret so playing or not playing in front of you won't make a difference." he said. "Sing with me." he demanded.

Rukia sighed. When he was using that tone with her, it was master and maid time. She approach the piano. Ichigo played the first few notes and Rukia never realized how beautiful it sounded on the piano. "You sing first, the rest will follow.." he instructed.

"Ima Ichibyou..."

"Hi ga Moetara..."

Rukia was shocked, he had a beautiful voice.

"Sora ni Tokete..."

"Asa ga Kuru..."

"Nemuri Kara..."

"Koe wo Agete..."

"Mebuite Yuku..."

"Sekai..."

Wow... They sounded great together. Why was she so in sync with this man? He was a jerk.

They finished until where Rukia stopped writing. Ichigo gave her back her sheet music and gave her another smile. He closed the piano and got up from the bench and made it so that the piano looked like it was never touched to begin with. He patted Rukia on the head.

"It's a nice song... Keep writing... Oh and..." he said before pointing to his lips. "Kiss me over here, after all, your precious master just played the piano for you." he said smugly.

Rukia scowled. "I never asked you to play for me!" she retorted.

"Ah ah ah..." he said wagging his finger back and forth. "This is an order from your master."

Rukia hesitantly dragged him down to her height. "I'm not tiptoeing." she said stubbornly.

"That's fine by me." he replied smugly.

Rukia took him by the collar. She mashed his lips quickly with hers. And there was that smirk again, that smirked of his infuriated her to no end. Ichigo captured her before she could withdraw. Though it was short. They quickly separated when they heard the door slide open. Rukia was the one who stepped a couple of steps away from him, looking very flushed. She glared at him for making her do that and all he did was smile innocently.

"Hey Rukia! Sorry for for the delay!" Momo said before looking at how close the two were and how flushed Rukia looked. "Hey Rukia, what's up?"

"The ceiling." Rukia answered as she stormed off to her guitar while mumbling something like 'insufferable bastard' or something remotely similar. Momo pondered over it for a moment before coming to a conclusion and shaking head. That was an absurd conclusion, there was no way Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo were like that already. It's only been three days.

"Yo, let's get started." Renji said.

Ichigo took her acoustic guitar and earned a soft glare from her but he shrugged it off. "I'll play the guitar... You won't mind if I borrow it would you Fubuki-san?"

Rukia shook her head in an annoyed way. "Not at all..." she replied snappily.

"Hmm... With this arrangement... I'm guessing it's SCANDAL..." Momo said.

"Yeah, make it Sayonara My Friend... You know that song right Ass- er... Kurosaki-san."

She saw that he wanted to laugh. "Yeah, I do."

Rukia took her guitar and plugged it to the amp before turning it on and checking if it was in tune. Momo and Ichigo followed and tuned their instruments before Rukia told Renji to start. After hearing the drumsticks thrice, Ichigo played.

"Yappari Ie Nagata Yo, ima demo Kimi ga Suki dayo, Sayonara my Friend... La la la la la la la..."

Maybe he wouldn't be that bad of an addition to the club.

* * *

><p>"You're washing the dishes." he ordered as he leisurely watched TV.<p>

Rukia wanted to die, just when her opinion of him changed slightly during practice, he had to change it back himself. As soon as she arrived, he had a rack of maid outfits and made her choose one. He had a whole variety of them actually, classic French maid, English maid, the modern ecchi maid and even cosplay maids like those popular mangas "Kaichou wa Maid-sama" and "Hayate the Combat Butler". Not like Rukia actually read manga, Momo just brought them to school every now and then.

He even had the nerve to say something like: "If you're not gonna pick one then I'll strip you myself."

She would be crazy to chose the latter.

Naturally, the safest bet was the most conservative looking one and surprisingly enough, it came from a manga. She ended up wearing it with no qualms, if she did have any, she wouldn't have a club to be the president of. She hated how she was wrapped around his finger like a puppet. However, ever since her senpai graduated, Momo and Renji were a bit down when none of the freshman played a single instrument. His coming brought some hope to their eyes, Rukia couldn't possible take that away just because she couldn't endure this much. That would be selfish.

"Oh, done already? You can go now." he said casually as he simply sat in the living room as though there was nothing wrong with having your shirt unbuttoned in front of a girl. Rukia had already changed out of the maid uniform.

"Yeah... I'll be taking my leave now." Rukia replied as she exited out the door.

This was weird, acting like they've been doing this thing for months already.

How long would she be able to do this?

Day three, so far so good.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah, shorter than before but I'll recover… My friend who writes for AsianFanfiction said this fic was better as smut but I'm still undecided even though she's always right… ah well, I'll change it when you guys holler about the rating but until then, I'll keep to rated T. after all, a lot of you said that heavy petting was still okay for rated T so I'll just stick to that… We'll see…<strong>

**The song Rukia was singing in the end is from the IchiRuki song glow by Fumiko Orikasa(Rukia) and Masakazu Morita(Ichigo), if you don't know that song then you are a sad person….**

**So yeah…**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN BLEACH BUT I DO OWN THIS STORY... NOT THE CHARACTERS... AIN'T THAT A PITY... OH THE THINGS I COULD DO TO BLEACH IF I DID OWN IT FUFUFUFUFU...**

* * *

><p>"Principal Uruhara would like to remind you all that your semestral test is coming in two days, I suggest you all study well and as for you Kurosaki-san, this test is optional for you but I suggest you earn some extra credit and take it." Kuchiki-sensei said as he readied himself to leave the classroom. Homeroom was at its end already.<p>

As soon as the Kuchiki left, the class burst into panic and mayhem. Though a lot of the girls began their panic by panicking for Ichigo. "Oh my... Kuchiki-sensei is right though Kurosaki-kun... Extra credits make it easier for you to graduate... But who can teach you."

"If you like Kurosaki-kun, we can teach you."

"Yeah, we should have a study session Kurosaki-kun."

Ichigo smiled sweetly. "It's quite alright actually... I'll just ask Fubuki-san instead... Hey Fubuki-san, you've got a whole lot of time in your hands don't you?" Ichigo said in his nice guy knowing very well that it would piss her off.

As he predicted, she was visibly pissed by his gesture.

"Yeah... Sure, what do you want me to do Kurosaki-san?" she asked but her voice was laced by discrete venom only Momo, Ichigo and Renji picked up.

He smiled innocently. "Come by my place after school, let's have a study session."

Rukia wanted to execute him with a guillotine. That was just another way of saying let's have fun Rukia-chan. Besides, she was going there anyway whether she liked it or not. "Sure, just text me your address later and I'll stop by." Rukia replied, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Rukia faced Momo with an apologetic smile. "No practice today I guess..."

"I can come along if you want." Momo offered sincerely.

And see his closet full of maid uniforms specifically designed for her? Hell no.

Rukia shook her head. "I don't want to bother you. I won't take long, just an hour or two and I'm coming home." Rukia smiled at her worried best friend.

Momo mouth a few words silently ad Rukia understood her message.

He's a guy. You'll be all alone with him.

"Don't worry about it. Kurosaki-san's a gentleman." Rukia reassured Momo while ignoring the stabbing glares from all the other envious females of the class.

Momo was still worried. Rukia was with a complete and total stranger. It never hurt to be too cautious. She had a plan.

* * *

><p>Momo approached him during lunch with some cash in hand. She placed the cash on the table and he checked the amount. His glasses glinted as he looked at her. "And? What's the item?" he asked professionally.<p>

"Make me a small camera Ishida-san... Like a surveillance bug." Momo demanded.

He looked at his watch. "Well you seem desperate Hinamori-san... I'm guessing you want it done before dismissal?" he asked.

"Preferably."

He smirked as he fixed his glasses again. "No problem, what happened to that other surveillance bug I made you?"

Momo crossed her arms. "It got crushed in her bag... Though it was necessary. I mean, she was teaching one of those dumb third year jocks last year and luckily enough, she used a Judo throw on the guy and scared him shitless when he made a move on her."

He nodded in agreement. "I understand... Fubuki-san is very attractive; it's only natural that you're protective of her most especially when boys want her alone. Especially, when you don't know them very well.

"Thanks for understanding Ishida-san." Momo thanked. "By the way, can you improve the audio of the bug and the frequency and signal strength... I don't want to have to hang around his apartment for two hours plus... I'd look like a stalker with a laptop."

Ishida Uryu laughed. "They don't call me the Mechanic over nothing. Consider it done... You want to surveillance it from you home? Well I just researched that on my phone just now, his house is just a few blocks away from yours meaning he lives quite near you and Fubuki-san... I can upgrade the signal… Keychain form again?"

"Yes please, I trust your good taste in cute things to make it something I would give."

"Consider it done... Ah... Kuchiki-san's back from cleaning the music room with Abarai-san... I'll get it done in a heartbeat." Uryu assured her. "You know what? I'll just place a fake insect on the windowsill to serve as your extra eyes... If you're so desperate to protect Fubuki-san, I'll stick insects at his windows."

"You can do that!"

"Yeah, I've got my methods... And besides, your cash is more than sufficient and it's a good opportunity to test out my new toys."

Momo smiled. "Gotta go, I trust your hands."

Momo returned to her seat and pretended to have been studying the entire time. Rukia was the only girl who befriended Momo back in elementary. When Momo was accused of stealing lunch money, not only did Rukia stand by her, she also caught the real perp. She needed to keep Rukia safe.

Rukia returned to her seat and what Momo was curious about was why did Rukia glare at Ichigo when he winked at her discretely.

* * *

><p>Rukia was completely and utterly resolved to stay five feet away from him as he walked towards his place. She tried to be as casual as possible and she even decided to walk behind him. Her glares were practically piercing his back.<p>

"What's wrong Rukia-chan? Can't stand to walk next to your beloved master?" Ichigo asked teasingly as he stopped in front of one building and went upstairs while Rukia followed closely behind him.

"Yes... Why would I want to walk next to a pervert and asshole like you." Rukia replied hostilely

He chuckled as he used his keys and opened the door. He let Rukia go in first and pretended to be a gentleman which only fueled her anger even more. She literally stomped inside and placed her bag on the table. Ichigo walked in and closed the door. He dropped his bag at the table too.

"Are you serious about studying? I mean, you're practically a genius." Rukia asked.

He shrugged. "Just give me all the topics you covered before I arrived and I'll be fine... I mean, I'm a straight A Japanese student and much to your common misconception, I won that piano concour in Prague."

Rukia sighed and rubbed her temples furiously. "What the hell is wrong with you? Have you ever worked hard before?"

"Not really, that's what you call a genius prodigy Rukia-chan." he grinned mockingly knowing it would incite her wrath even further.

Rukia sighed and held the anger in. She pulled out a bunch of notebooks and shoved them into his face. She pointed to each and every one of them with her pencil. "Okay, so this one's math, science, English, Japanese, history. Those are the only topics to be covered in the test."

"No biggie... However, teach me history." Ichigo demanded.

"Why?"

"I know German and world history but not Japanese history. That's gonna take a while." Ichigo reasoned sensibly.

She looked at him with her amethyst eyes. It was also nice to not see a hostile Rukia every once in a while but a hostile Rukia was a cute Rukia. Ichigo smirked as he gestured to his lap.

"Teach me over here, that's an order from your master."

"Insufferable bastard." she seethed as he saw how her forced herself to get up.

"Think about it this way, sitting on my lap while teaching me is better than when I got you to cosplay a maid. See? This is easier and less humiliating." Ichigo said smugly as he leaned back and supported himself with his arms.

Rukia got over to his side after much protest and cursing. Ichigo had to drag her down to his lap. Rukia sat on him looking all flushed. His order was just an excuse. He wanted to breathe in her unique and fantastic scent. All the other women reeked of perfume; it was a first to be able to find someone who smelled delectable in her own right. "Now then teach me Rukia-chan." he demanded.

Rukia swallowed thickly before she spoke. "Okay, so the topic is the Edo Period... So Tokugawa Ieyasu became the most powerful man in Japan after Hideyoshi's death. Tokugawa was against's the ideals of Hideyoshi's successor Hideyori. So In the battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu defeated the Hideyori loyalists and other Western rivals. Hence, he achieved almost unlimited power and wealth. In 1603, Ieyasu was appointed Shogun by the emperor and established his government in Edo, which you know now as modern day Tokyo. The Tokugawa shoguns continued to rule Japan for a remarkable 250 years."

"Ah, the warring states period of Japan... I stopped at Nobunaga Oda." Ichigo commented.

"Carrying on, Ieyasu brought the whole country under tight control. He cleverly redistributed the gained land among the daimyo: more loyal vassals received strategically more important domains accordingly. Every daimyo was also required to spend every second year in Edo. This meant a huge financial burden for the daimyo and moderated his power at home. Ieyasu continued to promote foreign trade. He established relations with the English and the Dutch. On the other hand, he enforced the suppression and persecution of Christianity from 1614 on. You still following me?"

"I'm not stupid... And besides, I have photographic hearing so just keep reading and I'll remember." Ichigo replied.

"Photographic Hearing? Now you're seriously unfair to the point that it's annoying." Rukia said bitterly.

"Keep reading Rukia-chan."

She sighed. "After the destruction of the Toyotomi clan in 1615 when Ieyasu captured Osaka Castle, he and his successors had practically no rivals anymore, and peace prevailed throughout the Edo period. Therefore, the warriors A.K.A the samurai were educating themselves not only in the martial arts but also in literature, philosophy and the arts, for example the tea ceremony."

"Toyotomi clan?" Ichigo asked.

"You know. Nobunaga's successor was Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Hideyoshi's supposed successor was Toyotomi Hideyori but since his ideals wouldn't bring peace, Tokugawa eliminated him."

"Oh... Carry on then."

"In 1633, shogun Iemitsu forbade travelling abroad and almost completely isolated Japan in 1639 by reducing the contacts to the outside world to very limited trade relations with China and the Netherlands in the port of Nagasaki. In addition, all foreign books were banned."

"The most important philosophy of Tokugawa Japan was Neo-Confucianism, stressing the importance of morals, education and hierarchical order in the government and society: A strict four class system existed during the Edo period: at the top of the social hierarchy stood the samurai, followed by the peasants, artisans and merchants. The members of the four classes were not allowed to change their social status. Outcasts, people with professions that were considered impure, formed a fifth class."

"In 1720, the ban of Western literature was cancelled, and several new teachings entered Japan from China and Europe. New nationalist schools that combined Shinto and Confucianist elements also developed."

Even though the Tokugawa government remained quite stable over several centuries, its position was steadily declining for several reasons: A steady worsening of the financial situation of the government led to h-higher t-taxes and riots among the farm p-population... Wh-what are you doing?" Rukia said in a strangled way.

Ichigo smirked as he continued to kiss her neck slowly. He could feel her entire body stiffen. "Kissing your neck... I'm getting a bit bored... Just teach me again later. It's master- maid time..." he whispered into her ear.

"S-studying is also i-important!" Rukia retorted.

"We still have two days of studying my dear Rukia-chan... Now then, entertain me." he said smugly like the rich bastard he was.

"Rich asshole..." she seethed and that only made him laugh.

"Oh? If you plan on disobeying, I'll just submit this club transferal form to Kuchiki-sensei and you won't have a club... Don't forget just who was the one who came begging as soon as she heard me play Alkan." he mocked.

Rukia flushed red, ah the humiliation. "Fine... What do you want me to do master?"

"I want you to endure what I'm about to do to you for five minutes." Ichigo said smugly as he continued to press wet open mouthed kisses against her milky white neck.

"If you give me a hickey, I will murder you to a bloody unrecognizable pulp." Rukia threatened before sharply taking in some air

"I won't do anything that stupid nor will I touch you that much... Even I have a limit to my lack of morality." Ichigo replied.

"So you do have a conscience..."

"Everybody does, as I said before, I'm not entirely heartless that I would ignore such cruelty to a human being."

"So if I was being mugged in an alley?"

"I would save you without a second thought but it applies to everybody."

"Just get on with it... I want to go home." she said stubbornly.

Ichigo smirked. "Five minutes starts now." he said.

Ichigo's strong arms were already wrapped around her thin waist. His assault on her neck was now more vehement. He could hear her softly panting whenever he licked her pulse. Ichigo's hot breath would sometimes linger on the parts her had just kissed and when he bit the shell of her ear, her heard her suppress a moan. He smirked as he got her to face him and he instructed her to wrap her legs around his torso.

Ichigo surged forward and captured her lips. His lips slid against hers slowly. If he wanted her to give in, he would have to be excruciatingly slow. Ichigo made a bet with himself as to how long would it be before she responded and it took quite a while for her to do so. It just proved how stubborn she was. He loved how her involuntary self wrapped her arms around his neck. He would have a field day teasing her over this.

Ichigo shoved his tongue in a masterfully taming Rukia. With his skillful strokes and ministrations, Rukia ended up responding against her greater judgement but it was too late, five minutes was up. Ichigo withdrew first and he gave her five seconds to regain her sense of self. The first thing she did was withdraw her arms and give him one harsh slap on reflex. Rukia then covered her mouth and began to apologize profusely. Ichigo wanted to laugh at the cuteness of it all despite the stinging pain of his left cheek.

He laughed at her a laugh that didn't mock her. "Damn... You really are entertaining aren't you midget?"

"M-midget!"

"Yeah, it's my second nickname for you." he said. "Oh, you can get off my lap now."

Rukia did just that quickly and decided to stay on the other side of the table this time.

"Okay, let's keep studying shall we Rukia-chan?" he asked with a huge grin plastered on his face.

Rukia nodded in an ashamed way.

"Aww... My Rukia-chan has finally learned how to use her tongue... I am such a good teacher."

"Shove it asshole... Why don't you make your own dinner and why don't you study yourself and etc..." Rukia replied angrily, her face was still beet red.

"Are you mad?"

"Of course I am... Stealing my first Kia and all, forcing me to work for you just so I can keep my club running... See, you are a jerk... If it weren't for Renji and Momo I wouldn't be doing this at all..."

"True... They did look rather down on my first day but they seem happier when I joined."

"See? I'd be selfish to take that happiness away..."

Ichigo smiled. "You're a very dedicated person... Why do you love music so much?"

"That's personal, why did you stop making music? Did you even love it?"

"Of course I did, but that's personal."

"Ah well... Keep studying..."

"Okay..."

* * *

><p>"What the hell?" Momo cussed as she watched her laptop screen. Her were hands quivering as she gripped the laptop. Her heart was racing and she felt something unpleasant in the pit of her stomach.<p>

She wasn't dreaming was she?

Wait... Recap.

Their conversation didn't sound like a conversation between strangers. How long has this been going on? Why didn't Rukia tell her? Wasn't she her best friend, did she think she wouldn't believe her? Of course she would and what was that she heard?

Rukia worked and humiliated herself for her and Renji's sake? She didn't need to do that for them? Weren't they gonna solve this problem together?

What kind of relationship is that? He was obviously taking advantage of her and she even consented. Though technically she slapped him afterwards, she apologized profusely. That wasn't right, she needn't apologize. But who knew that Kurosaki Ichigo wasn't nice at all. He was completely the opposite. He wasn't the dream boy every girl dreamed about nor was he super polite and charming. He was spoiled and arrogant. He had an awful attitude and he treated Rukia badly.

Anyone who treated Rukia badly was horrible in Momo's book.

He even had the nerve to take her first kiss. He had no right.

And did she hear right, he forced her to cosplay? That was borderline pervert.

Momo felt bad about herself. She was happy that they were keeping the club but she didn't know that it was at Rukia's expense. She ought to google Kurosaki Ichigo.

Something needed to be done.

"Kurosaki... That jerk... If he has the nerve to do that to Rukia then he's lower than scum." Momo seethed as she closed the laptop before she got any madder.

Tomorrow... She needed to talk to Rukia...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Whoops… this is even shorter…. A well, next chapter then, I'll make it longer, I promise! So yeah, Ignore the brief Japanese lesson, I play too much dynasty warriors and Samurai chronicles and the like. So, don't be mad at Momo, she'ds just worried. Ignore her… So yes….<strong>

**Nothing much but a bridge, this chapter is….**

**I'm disappointing you guys aren't I?**

**I didn't put any songs here sadly.**

**But Thanks for the reviews…. Its well appreciated.**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	4. Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I WISH I OWNED BLEACH...**

* * *

><p>"This is your tenth official order from you master... Let's play illicit student relationships on the rooftop." Ichigo said smugly during the one time they were alone in the classroom. It was P.E and everybody had ready gone to the lockers. They stayed behind to erase the black board while Momo was simply lurking outside without their knowledge.<p>

"Ten already huh... days of working for a son of a bitch like you..." Rukia commented casually as she erased the last bits of the blackboard while Ichigo sat casually on top of the teacher's desk grinning evilly.

"That's new... How many more nicknames do you have for me Rukia-chan?" he asked teasingly.

"As much as the dictionary could contain you no good young master. Why don't you go screw yourself and act like your outside self." Rukia retorted angrily as she faced him.

He was smiling like his arrogant self that she loathed oh so very much. "Now entertaining myself is no fun... Unless you intend to walk in on me playing with myself... Oh? Were you planning on seeing your naked master Rukia-chan? I mean, considering how I purposely go around shirtless, surely you must be considering it." he said so arrogantly that it pissed her off.

"Are you you sick in the head!" she yelled at him.

He slid off the table and held her chin so she would face him. "Perhaps... Perhaps I am." he said as he was centimeters away from her face. She could already feel his hot breath on her lips.

Momo had to intervene, she opened the door and managed to separate them. She smiled innocently. "What's keeping you Rukia?

"Oh! You're still here Kurosaki-san! Come on and get changed! You know how Zaraki-sensei hates latecomers." Momo said as she grabbed Rukia and stole her away from Ichigo.

Ichigo scowled as he followed after them. He stayed a few feet back and simply trailed them. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and was dismayed when his entertainment was cut short. Meanwhile, Momo smiled at Rukia mischievously. "You two seem close." Momo said.

"We aren't... I hate him remember?"

Momo sighed. Looks like she wouldn't be admitting anything soon.

"True, don't tell me he kissed you." Momo falsely joked.

Rukia flushed red and averted Momo's eyes. "That's impossible... What would Mr. Popular see in me anyway?" Rukia replied defensively.

Yet he chose only you for his sick purposes.

"True... But you are adorable Rukia... You're beautiful and you have class... You're one of the few girls worth more than the universe... Any man's lucky to be able to even touch you." Momo said before giving Ichigo the glare without Rukia knowing it.

"Th-that's too much! I'm not that attractive am I?" Rukia said completely flustered and all.

"Of course you're attractive... That senpai from last year made a move on you didn't her and he was also popular. You never know, how about the next time you bring go to a study session with a guy, why don't you bring me along or I might have to put a camera..." Momo joked but she said it in a way that made it clear that it was directed towards Ichigo.

Ichigo was intrigued to he picked up the pace and grabbed Momo away from Rukia leaving Rukia to wonder about what was wrong. "Don't worry, I'm just having a chat with Hinamori over here." Ichigo said before making sure Rukia couldn't hear him.

"Speak, what do you know?" he demanded angrily.

"I do know that you have to google your name in German to get results." Momo grinned as she crossed her arms.

Ichigo shot her a glare. "I'm guessing it was the keychain. Do you spy on your best friend all the time?"

"If the jerk's suspicious then yes." Momo replied angrily before grabbing his collar and landing a good slap on his face. He didn't take any offense to it. "How dare you take advantage of Rukia like that! Don't you feel an ounce of pity? You're lucky I found out about this early because who knows what you'll do to her eventually."

Ichigo sighed. "If there's one thing I want to say, I don't want to do anything more to her. That would be plain cruel... I mean, that first kiss thing... In my opinion, a first kiss is with one you love, what I did to her doesn't count... And besides... If she really doesn't want to do it I won't force her however... It's just so entertaining watching her think that I'd force her..."

"Oh, so it's mental torture? Splendid... Watch what you do to her but I have one question."

"Yeah?"

"Would you stay in the club if she stopped working for you?"

"Even if she didn't beg me to join, just her sheer determination makes me want to... She's my only entertainment." Ichigo smiled.

Momo shook her head. "You German folk are demented."

"I'm a naturalized German but I'm a pure bred Japanese." he said.

"I can't believe I'm the same race as you."

"Better believe it... Until she hollers, I'm keeping her..." he smirked.

Momo massaged her temples furiously in a way Rukia would do. "Alright... I'm taking off the bug because I trust that you'll keep your word. If I see that Rukia's hurt in any way I'm releasing that footage to the entire student body."

Ichigo simply grinned. "Of course..."

He was that confident huh.

"Let's just keep this arrangement to ourselves." Momo said with an air of finality.

Momo then faced back and called Rukia to move faster since they were practically late already. Rukia came running after them. All three of them had decided to run down together.

* * *

><p>Rukia sighed as her heart raced. His orders were getting more and more obnoxious by the day and this time, the possibility of getting caught was higher since it was the school rooftop and it was kinda off limits to students unless it was lunch. Rukia pushed the heavy door open to find no one there. She let out a breath of relief before spotting the handsome orange haired boy.<p>

He smiled at her and gestured her come closer which she did, he was sitting by the corner of the rooftop. Rukia strode over to his side and sat next to him.

"What are we doing? Just make it quick you pervert..."

He chuckled at her sentence and before she knew it, she was on the floor and she was being pinned down by his strong arms. His mouth was curved up to a smirk and his blazing amber eyes never looked more confident. "Let's play it my way..." he said hotly before he swooped down to take her lips.

Ichigo kissed her ferociously. He wasn't being teasing today, he was being more rough that usual. Kinda like when he forced a kiss on her in the music room. His assault on her was merciless and all Rukia could do was take it. He left her lips cold for one moment. "Use your tongue and try to beat me..."

Rukia complied with much reluctance as his tongue prodded for entrance. She allowed him and they began to fight. Rukia did her absolute best to just simply catch up to this fantastic kisser of a man. Rukia accidentally let a moan slip as she attacked his tongue with as much fervor as he did. Rukia was surprised when she heard a sound from his throat. He sure as hell was enjoying himself.

Ichigo tore away from her lips and much to her shock, he began to assault her neck. His began to lick, bit and suck on her pulse sensually, Rukia felt like she was on fire. Then he stopped his assault shortly. "Now then, return the favor." he demanded.

Rukia nodded as Ichigo sat up. He directed her to straddle him and wrapped his strong arms over her thin waist. Rukia pushed away her one though it protest and held his face. Rukia closed her eyes as she kissed him. Rukia wasn't like him, she didn't know how to kiss so from here on out, she trusted her instincts. Her version wasn't as forceful as his but it was the best she could do. Her hands instinctively pressed against his firm chest as she begged for entrance. He let her in and they didn't fight like earlier.

Before she even realized it, her hands were trying to feel him from under his blazer. Rukia's assault began to slowly become more and more relentless as she losed herself to the kiss and she eventually forgot why she was kissing him in the first place. Rukia then stopped kissing and wanted to experiment on him a little. She slowly licked his pulse and true enough, she gasped softly. Rukia began to bite at his neck and suck as well like he did before she licked the shell of his ear.

Once she was practically done, Ichigo held het wrist. His blazing amber eyes bored into her amethyst eyes with heated desire. His mouth was curved up to a smirk. "That's my little maid... You learn fast don't you?" he teased as he playfully licked her lips.

Rukia blushed heavily as she covered her mouth and quickly got off of him. "Can I go now?"

Ichigo shrugged. "Sure... Don't be late later." he said.

Rukia was about to open the rooftop door when she felt his arms snake around her waist. His head was buried over the crook of her neck and when he was this close, she could smell his fantastic scent again. "One more thing... Don't take any detours okay and if you want, you can bring Hinamori with you every once in a while. There's been a lot of rape cases recently" he said softly as he inhaled her scent.

Rukia nodded with great surprise as he kissed her cheek and stopped hugging her from behind.

―――――

This time, Ichigo was doing the vocals. Rukia played the first few notes of the song before the drums and the bass kicked in along with the first few lines of the song.

"Itsumo sasaete kureru hito-tachi ni  
>Higoro no omoi wo kometa RHAPSODY<br>APPRECIATION no kimochi yo todoke  
>Itsumo arigatou hontou arigatou<br>Tatoe doko ni itatte kimi no sonzai ni kansha shiteru yo"

"Tasogare no machi ga akaku somaru koro nanigenaku michi wo aruiteita  
>Ikikau hito no mure ga masu gogo<br>Nantonaku tachitomatte mita  
>Potsuri to aita kokoro no sukima<br>Umeru you ni ugoita keitai no MANNER  
>Kimi wa hitori janai hora minna<br>Tagai ni sasaeatte iku no sa

Fuantei na mirai ga kowakute nayandeita boku ni mukatte  
>Nanimo iwazu ni sotto te wo sashinobete kureru kimi ga ita<br>Kanashimi ga hanbun ni natta yorokobi wa nibai ni fukuranda  
>Gyaku no tachiba ni nattara sugusama<br>Soba made kaketsukeru to chikatta

Itsumo sasaete kureru hito-tachi ni  
>Higoro no omoi wo kometa RHAPSODY<br>APPRECIATION no kimochi yo todoke  
>Itsumo arigatou hontou arigatou<br>Tatoe doko ni itatte kimi no sonzai ni kansha shiteru yo"

Rukia ended the song with the guitar and smiled. She patted Ichigo at the back. "Good work Kurosaki..." she said. "That felt great..."

Momo agreed with Rukia as she randomly player a few notes on her bass. "Yeah, that did feel good. Don't you think so too Renji?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, it was pretty good."

Rukia took of her guitar and turned of the amp before unplugging it. Momo and company followed suit but Renji went out first. His mom was gonna be discharged today. Apparently, she was just fatigued. Ichigo approached Rukia and ruffled her hair. "You look like you're in a good mood." he commented.

"Practice turned out well today..." Rukia replied, secretly blushing at his gesture since Momo was watching.

He smirked at her when he saw Momo wasn't looking just so that Rukia wouldn't get all conscious. "Oh? Perhaps my little maid deserves a reward for a job well done?" he whispered while Momo rolled her eyes knowing full well this was intentional.

"Wh-what are you trying to do this time?" Rukia said angrily.

"Just this..." he said before planting a wet kiss on her lips. He smirked and passed by Momo smugly.

"You sure you want to keep that information to yourself Hinamori-san?"

"Yeah, it's not gonna make her any happier."

"I think you're quite wrong there... She tends to feel helpless." Ichigo replied smugly.

"Who are you to tell me that?"

He grinned at Momo. "Her master." he replied before walking out.

Momo sighed as she faced Rukia. She pointed to the door. "He's one hell of a character Rukia..."

"Why? What did he say to you?" Rukia asked as she strapped her guitar on her back.

Momo shook her head. "Nothing much..."

"Umm hey... I'm still gonna head over to Kurosaki's place to teach him since the test is one day away and all... You wanna come?" Rukia asked.

Momo was intrigued. "Sure, why not."

* * *

><p>Ichigo opened the door and raised an eyebrow when he saw Momo. He shook his head softly and looked at Rukia. "When I said you could bring her every once in a while I didn't mean today..."<p>

Rukia silenced him immediately. "Shh! Can we study now?" Rukia asked assertively.

Ichigo shook his head and chuckled. He raised an eyebrow at Momo only to be met with her knowing smile. He scratched the back of his head and let them in. As soon as Rukia got in, she dropped her stuff in a corner and Ichigo mumbled something to her before getting some tea himself. Rukia sighed as she sat down and brought out her books.

Momo raised an eyebrow. This is gonna be interesting.

"Where did you guys stop?"

"Actually... We just need to read to him everything we learned in Japanese History and he'll remember... This idiot has photographic hearing..." Rukia said as she also brought out her notebook.

Momo pouted. "Well that's annoying..."

"Tell me about it..." Rukia sighed.

Rukia eventually smelled something burning. She cussed softly as she stood up and stormed to the kitchen. "Are you an idiot! What the hell do you think you're doing to the tea leaves! Those were expensive!"

Ichigo scowled at her as turned off the stove. "Expensive, yes but it's my money you midget!"

"Excuse me! I am not a midget and you are burning the tea by some diluted miracle! Look, I'll do it!"

"Are you saying I can't do something as simple as this!"

Rukia threw her hands to the air. "Yes! Exactly! Look, just leave it to me! I swear... You rich folk think you're so smart..." Rukia said angrily before taking over the stove.

Ichigo held her wrist and held her chin, forcing her to face him. He looked at her sternly. "You dare disobey your master?" he asked.

Rukia kept her scary as hell glare. "No, we can do what you want later... Just not in front of Momo okay?" Rukia said in pure and utter defeat.

Ichigo sighed. "Fine then... I'll just have to punish you later." he said in an irritated way before leaving it to Rukia.

Ichigo walked back to the living room and accompanied Momo. He stole Rukia's book and began reading before Momo spoke. "You fight like a married couple you know?"

"We do not." Ichigo simply replied.

"And I'm saying you do. Are you sure you're master and maid? It looks like an excuse to be with Rukia." Momo said casually.

"What do you mean by that?"

"From my point of view, you have no idea how to talk to girls like Rukia so you use this job of hers as an excuse to spend some time with her since you find yourself attracted to her. I won't hold that against you, since Rukia's really cute and all..."

He flushed red, a much better reaction that Momo had anticipated. "I just thought it would be fun since this town's just so boring and all."

"If that's how you want to put it..." Momo commented nonchalantly.

"Talking to you is like talking to a wall..." Ichigo sighed.

"I'm kinda getting used to this real personality of yours Kurosaki-san..."

"Oh joy." Ichigo replied sarcastically.

Rukia came back with some tea and the lesson began.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Damn… I'm slowly losing my streak… Ah well, writing has it's ups and downs but I don't mind, I'll deliver a new chapter and I'll try to keep the standards up every single time. The song Ichigo's singing is Thank You by Home Made Kazoku otherwise known as another early and indirect IchiRuki ending…. Just joking, it wasn't heavily implied and it's the second bleach ending in the series and I kinda memorize that rap until the chorus kicks in for the second time… Oh and some of the lyrics are done by ear since I write on mobile, iPhone and all and it's a hassle for me to go to the wifi spot to get lyrics… so yeah, as for glow, I memorize it from the bottom of my heart… and yes glow is not capitalized because if it was then my Bleach Beat Collection 2 Album is lying to me… I so epically fail, I was playing Gundam Dynasty Warriors 3 and me being biased about Gundam 00, I always use the main character there Setsuna F. Seiei… now as for my partner in crime, I picked Heero Yuy from Gundam Wing… another popular and all time favorite… as for my operator, the one who guides you through the game, I picked this girl named Tiffa because it was like Tifa Lockhart from Final Fantasy VII but then I found out that this other girl named Chan Agi, don't know which Gundam she's from and don't care, is voiced by Fumiko Orikasa so I picked her just to listen to Rukia's voice as I played….. then I found out the main antagonist of Gundam Wing Treize was voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu, Byakuya's seiyuu…. Ah well<strong>

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH NOR ANY MUSIC I PUT IN HERE**

* * *

><p>Rukia was busy reviewing for the exam today while Ichigo was busy silently reading to himself the entire Edo Period in full detail. It was going great until his method stopped being effective. He poked Rukia from behind and she looked at him irritatedly. "Fubuki-san, can you help me review again?"<p>

Rukia sighed as she brought out her own book and faced him while majority of the females in the classroom looked at her enviously. How was Rukia able to engage a conversation with him so freely? They couldn't talk to him without fumbling over their words and they couldn't even get a proper conversation with him. "Do I need to read the entire thing again?" Rukia asked.

He nodded. "Yeah... It's just a review and this is gonna be good for you too Fubuki-san..." Ichigo replied.

Rukia flipped over a few pages. "Okay, who's Tokugawa Ieyasu?"

"He was the third uniter of Japan and shogun of Edo. He's the man who actually united Japan and under his reign was peace." Ichigo replied.

"Oh, so you do remember... Please don't tell me you're bored again?" Rukia sighed as she closed her eyes fitfully.

"Kinda..." Ichigo winked at her and that made her roll her eyes once she saw the wink. "I have a proposition... As thanks for teaching me, if I'm the top notcher in the test I'll take you out on a date." he said out loud and that made a whole lot of heads turn. The females were glaring at Rukia and Momo was at the brink of laughing while the Rukia admirers began to glare at Ichigo.

Rukia smirked. "Oh? Feeling confident are we Kurosaki? So what're you going to do if I get the top spot?" she replied and that reply of hers seriously caught the class's interest.

He smiled and whispered to her. "We switch roles for a day."

Rukia laughed hard before pulling a stray bang away from her face and behind her ear though the one bang in the middle of her face stayed stubborn. The class rarely heard her laugh that much and so they were dead curious about what he said. "Wow, you really are confident... Okay, you're on Kurosaki. You're not gonna back out of this bet are you?" Rukia asked.

Ichigo leaned back and crossed his arms. "Hell no..."

Rukia wanted to smack herself and mouthed the words to him herself.

Personality

Ichigo nearly jumped and corrected himself instantly. "I mean of course not." he said nicely. He nearly slipped up there because he forgot that it wasn't just him and Rukia in the room as of the moment.

Rukia smiled. "Good, because I am so kicking your ass Kurosaki."

"Looks like I'm not the only confident one eh? Fubuki?" Ichigo replied before resuming his studies.

Rukia faced forward and continued studying until Kuchiki-sensei came in with their tests.

* * *

><p>"Pass your papers... Keep it neat and orderly or your paper will be marked zero." Kuchiki-sensei said unfeelingly as he simply sat on the chair behind the teacher's desk. His presence already scared the shit out of most people and only a few people didn't cower in fear in his presence.<p>

The class silently passed their papers forward the way their teacher had wanted it to be. When all the papers were in the hand of one student, their teacher stood up and took them from him coldly. He double checked to see if all the papers were in order and fixed them on his desk.

"Very well, class dismissed." he said as the students went out one by one. It was during exams where the students only had to go to to school to tale the exam. Afterwards, they could go home. The class took their bags and some got ready for their club activities.

Rukia exited first seeing as though she was the one who had the key. She unlocked the music room door and set aside her guitar properly before waiting for the rest to join her. Her eyes trailed towards the piano and she could still remember the perfect Alkan he played and the beautiful melody of her song transcribed in piano form. The sound was still ringing in her ears. She found herself sitting on the piano bench and resting her head atop the covered piano.

It was still clear as day. She could still feel and hear his dark Grand sonate. She could still feel the chills upon hearing him giving in to the darkness of his own making and how great she felt singing that duet with him. Her acoustic guitar and his piano accompanying their vocals. She still couldn't understand why they were so in sync then.

She heard the door slide open. Her head shot up and found her berryheaded master. She sighed fitfully as she resumed her previous position, eyes closed and all. The melodies shot throuh her head again but they got interrupted when she felt to teasing fingers trail up her spine. Rukia instantly straightened up and refused to admit how nice that felt. She turned around and glared at him.

"Don't do that." Rukia said.

He smirked. "I'm your master, of course I can do that." he replied arrogantly.

Ichigo say next to her and opened the piano cover. "Scoot over." he said which Rukia did.

"I'll teach you how to play your own piece, just the right hand. I'll do the left." he said softly as he showed her what keys to press and he made it so simply for her to understand.

"Why are you teaching me this?"

He shrugged. "I suddenly feel like it... There's something about this piano that makes me want to play it." he replied. She saw the look in his eyes whenever he touched the piano, there was a small light, a twinkle rather. "Now then, give it a try."

Rukia pressed the keys and was amazed with how a few single notes sounded wonderful on the piano. She kinda messed up when it involved two keys at once and she felt his small rising anger. "No, it's not like that..." he said.

He wrapped his arm over her shoulder so his right hand could reach hers. His large calloused hands were so gentle and pleasant on her petite and calloused hands. His fingers were on top of hers and he pressed a key using her finger. Rukia's heart raced. She wasn't used to being this close to a boy with her sane mind intact. Well yes, she was kissing him and all but that didn't count because whenever she did kiss him, she didn't have full control over herself. Here, she knew exactly what was happening and she really couldn't quite place the feeling she was currently experiencing.

"Okay, remember how I do the right hand. It's basic keys and notes while I'll do the left hand." he said as he began to play.

He was always such a rough person, why was he being so gentle. These were pianist hands. She could feel the emotions of his melody and she could tell that he was losing himself to the music. When he was finished, which was where Rukia stopped last time. He told her to repeat after her. Remembering the sensations of his fingers above hers, she managed to nail it rather amateurishly but regardless, she still nailed it. Ichigo flashed her a smile she rarely saw and he ruffled her hair for it. "I was worried since you have small hands but you still reached it." Ichigo said.

Rukia felt strangely cold when he redrew his arm. "Play another piece." she said.

"Alright... Just one more okay? No more piano for you after that." he said warmly. The piano just had that kind of effect on him... Okay fine, maybe a little Rukia.

He played a few gentle and light keys and Rukia instantly recognized it as Debussy's Clair de Lune. Rukia closed her eyes as she listened to his soft yet heartwarming music. Then the thought returned to her. It was this man who played such a dark and terrifying Alkan. That sent a shiver down her spine.

He finished playing the piece and faced her. Amethyst eyes met amber ones and they stayed locked into the other. What was this sensation? It was completely new to her, she never felt like this before. Not even when he kissed her. Ichigo suddenly looked away as if he was scared of something and stood up. He offered her his hand and she took it.

"Why won't you play the piano for them?" Rukia asked softly as her eyes lingered on the piano then to his handsome face.

He clenched his fist and closed his eyes. "I can't... I betrayed the piano once... I won't do it again..."

Rukia sighed. "It's such a waste... Ah well, band practice time. I can already hear Momo outside." Rukia said as she reached for her guitar and checked if it was tuned. Ichigo looked at her weirdly. "You know this is the part when you ask me what happened and I'm supposed to tell you what happened but then I won't really do just that."

She smile at him. "It's your problem... A deep deep problem... If I delve into your heart, I'll just sully it. So until you feel like telling me. I'll wait... I'll wait until you want to talk." she said.

Ichigo felt something stir in his chest at her answer and smirked. "Heh... Good answer." he said.

"Of course it's a good answer. I said it." she replied as she took out her tuner and began tuning it.

He chuckled as he took her acoustic guitar and borrowed her spare guitar tuner. The door slid open and Momo raised an eyebrow when she saw them sitting next to each other, tuning their guitars. She approached then from behind while Renji looked rather dismayed by the scene. Because of that bet, he felt the need to be more cautious around Ichigo.

And so band practice began.

* * *

><p>Rukia felt limp as he ravished her against the kitchen counter. His lips slid against hers so encouragingly that she just couldn't help herself. Her only support was the kitchen counter. His calloused was planted firmly on her ass while his other hand made small circled at the small of her back. Rukia on the other hand had gripped his tangerine hair for some for form of purchase while her other hand was gripping his tie in order to pull him closer.<p>

Rukia let out a small moan as his tongue invaded her. She fought back and played with his teasing appendage. A sound erupted from his throat as he angled his head further in order to taste her. Strangely, it was only today that he felt so drunk and heady with the sensations of her. He wasn't lying when he said she tasted good. She tasted heavenly as a matter of fact and she was addicting in her own right. Ichigo seriously doubted that he would ever get bored with her.

Ichigo kept kissing her for what seemed like forever. Kissing her felt differently this time, he wasn't being driven by his raging teen hormones today. It was strange but he had never kissed a girl like this before. Girls only wanted him for his body but Rukia didn't want him at all in that way or rather, she didn't even want to be near him but sometimes, he felt like she actually wanted him to stay.

What was wrong with him today?

Rukia eventually stopped resisting for the most part since she knew all to well that she would lose it eventually and end up kissing back. She didn't understand herself anymore; she knew she didn't like him but why did some small minuscule part of her entire being anticipate afternoons with him. That wasn't supposed to happen, he was doing this against her will. Strangely enough, she didn't want to stop. In fact, she didn't think she could stop. What was wrong with her now?

They pulled back for air and their eyes were connected again. They could see each other's thoughts and feelings clear as day. It was strange and what intrigued Rukia the most was the hidden hurt in his eyes. He had the eyes of someone who had been hurting for a long time.

Ichigo let her go abruptly and she didn't mind.

"Hey... Rukia?"

Rukia was taken aback by this gesture. Yes, he would call her Rukia-chan, Fubuki-san or just plain Fubuki but it was only now that he called her by her first name her first name only.

"Let's stop this arrangement for a while after tomorrow." he said.

Rukia nodded. "Is something the matter?" she asked. She was practically rejoicing now that she had a break from him but his behavior was strange.

He held his forehead. "Yeah, I'm not feeling too well." he replied.

Rukia approached him and pressed her cool hand against her forehead. "You're not running a fever. Maybe you're just tired." she said.

He smiled at her weakly. "Yeah perhaps..."

What's happening to me, he thought.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: O_O ….. getting shorter and shorter….. oh dear…..<strong>

**I have nothing to say really and I don't expect many reviews for this chapter of mine but in compensation, I'll update the next chapter really fast!**

**So we're still playing glow and I'm sure Debussy's Clair de Lune isn't unknown thanks to (spats) Twilight…..**

**Sigh… I feel bad**

**AkaBaka-chan Signing off! (in a sad way… I feel disappointed in this chapter…)**


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: IF ONLY THAT WERE TRUE**

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><p>Rukia and Ichigo could not believe their eyes. Was this possible? This wasn't a practical joke was it? This was impossible and unfathomable to the both of them. This wasn't even a joke anymore but no matter how many times they closed their eyes and scanned the flimsy piece of paper posted there, the results wouldn't change. The crowd around them broke into whispers as the odd couple could barely formulate a proper insult towards each other.<p>

How could the two of them have the same rank? They were both number one.

They glared at each other as they made a beeline for the faculty room. They knocked politely first before they approached Kuchiki-sensei. Before the two of them could speak, he stoically shoved their papers to their faces and they took it gratefully. He sighed as he sat down again and gestured them to leave. "Just take it..." he said.

Class hadn't exactly started yet so it wouldn't make too much of a difference to give it earlier. Ichigo and Rukia returned to the classroom and as soon as they entered, a negative tension filled the room. They sat down simultaneously and looked at their papers. They were both marked with a full one hundred points. Rukia turned around and he leaned forward and both of them began comparing answers to see if there were any errors.

"This is unacceptable! Why do you have the same score as me!" she yelled at him earning the class's attention and the glares of the females.

"I should be the one saying that, why do you have the same score as me!" he retorted at her much to the shock of his fans and to the anger of her fans. Looks like the nicest guy on campus had finally lost his temper.

"Oh I dunno, care to double check to see if you were wrong?" Rukia said mockingly earning the protests of his fans.

"Yeah? Maybe you're the wrong one!" he replied earning the violent reactions of the males.

"No, I say you're in the wrong! I sure as hell don't want to go on a date with you!"

"Yeah? And I don't want to be your slave for a day!" he retorted.

That certainly caught the class's interest while Momo was at the brink of laughter.

"You proposed it you perverted bastard!" she yelled at him, her glare at full force. His fans became an angry mob towards her insult.

"You accepted it you unattractive prude!" he yelled back, he was practically baring his teeth and gritting them. The Rukia fans became a riot.

"Prude! You dare to call me a prude you ingrate! I'm not the one forcibly kis-"

"Rukia... Don't you dare say that." he threatened with an accusing finger pointed towards her. That increased the class's curiosity. Since when were they at first name basis?

"Well I'm sorry Ichigo, did I hurt your feelings?" she said smugly.

"Didn't know you even knew what feelings were you midget..."he retorted.

"I've got feelings too you pompous."

"Oh? If you have these so called feelings then why don't you show it?" he said angrily in a voice fueled by hormones.

"Yeah? You want me to show it?" Rukia replied in the same tone.

They were rather close to each other and Momo saw them eyeing each other's lips.

This was bad, Momo thought. If she didn't stop these two, they'd be making out in the classroom and technically speaking, they're not dating.

Momo stood up and intervened. She held Rukia's shoulder to appease her and smiled at her. "Rukia, get a hold of yourself. Both of you should do each other's bet."

Rukia sighed as she massaged her temples furiously. "Sorry..."

"Rukia, I know you're temper... It's understandable considering what's at stake but not in the classroom." Momo scolded before looked at Ichigo. "You should know better, after all, you were the one who proposed this argument." Momo said with a raised eyebrow, Ichigo knew she meant it both ways.

"Oh and Rukia, you shouldn't have accepted the bet." Momo scolded.

"True..." was all Rukia replied.

Momo sighed and crossed her arms. "I swear... You two are such a pain, it's like talking to a wall." she whined. "And taking care of little children." she added.

That line made Rukia laugh a bit and that made Ichigo smirked.

* * *

><p>Ichigo was standing in the middle of the street wearing a warm coat and a form-fitting shirt that did no good to Rukia's eyes. I mean, who wouldn't be in the right mind when a man with such a great body wore a form-fitting shirt? Was it even legal for a seventeen year old boy to be so cut?<p>

Rukia couldn't really say if she had any good clothes because her entire wardrobe consistent of low discounted and socially acceptable clothing. She just wore her usual and she didn't need Momo's help. That would be so embarrassing. She ran up to him and apologized for being lately.

"You're not late, I'm early." he said as he pointed towards the huge public clock.

"I see..."

He smirked at her. "Any fangirls?" he asked as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Rukia smiled back. "A group of seven behind the post and that telephone booth. They intend to trail us the entire time." she said.

He chuckled. "Then let's put up a good show then." he said as he wrapped his arm over her shoulder like he did when he taught her how to play the piano a bit.

Rukia blushed. "Wh-what are you doing! This makes it look like we've been dating for a while!" she said angrily.

"All the more reason right?" he said winking at her.

"Just no kissing, that's gonna be worse."

He scowled. "Oh fine... But can you master get a kiss later?"

"I'm your mistress later you idiot, you'll follow my orders..."

"Oh? So can I ask you a favor?"

"No... I'm not kissing you." she flat out rejected him.

Any form of rejection was completely new to him.

"Okay okay, just keep it down midget." he replied as he withdrew his arm. They walked side by side to the nearest arcade since Ichigo had never been there ever. Rukia led him to the arcade and he looked around in amazement. He could buy ever-single arcade game at the snap of his fingers but it was a different experience to actually go to the arcade. Ichigo gave her the money and she went of to buy the tokens.

It took a while but she had a bunch of tokens. She taught Ichigo how it worked and how he could win tickets for prizes. Eventually, he was playing a bunch of shooting games. Rukia wanted to laugh as she watched him. He was like a little kid in a toy store. Rukia crossed her arms as she saw the seven fangirls in the corner of her eye and fought a snicker. They sure were desperate.

Ichigo asked what that certain game was and Rukia replied that it was Dance Dance Revolution. She told him that he had to step on the arrows on the floor when the arrow symbol on the screen reached the marker. Naturally, the arrows moved with the beat.

Ichigo got interested and urged Rukia to play with him. She wasn't too bad at playing that game but Momo was a master. He popped in the needed tokens and clicked the two-player button. He got Rukia to select the song and she picked the only song she could beat Momo in, DoLL. She made Ichigo's side on beginner's level while hers was on difficult.

The game started and Ichigo struggled at first while Rukia worked at it flawlessly. Once the song was done, Rukia got a sparkly A while Ichigo settled for a red D. He gritted his teeth and scowled saying it was his first time. Rukia chuckled as she picked another song called Xepher. She wanted to murder him a bit more but she lowered her setting back to basic. That song was murder on difficult and how Momo managed was a mystery.

The song started and Ichigo was already caught of guard. It was fun to watch him struggle. Once he was through with the song, he got mad at her for picking such a hard song. Rukia simply laughed at him and changed her setting back to difficult. She seriously picked an easy song this time, it was called Mugen.

Ichigo managed to get a B on this song but he was already tired while Rukia just rested against the rail. He said he was tired and he didn't feel like playing anymore. They agreed to go take a breather and eat. It's been a while since Rukia went out with a friend and had this much fun. Wait... Was he even a friend?

They went out with a light feeling in their chests and entered a nearby seclude yet popular cafe. Expensive yes but he had tons of money to kill. They were seated in the corner and witnessed the seven fangirls choose two representatives and shared money among themselves. They were greeted and they sat in a place that had a perfect view of Ichigo and Rukia's table.

Rukia chuckled. "Desperate much... They must love you more than they love God." she joked.

"I've never had stalkers go in groups before." he replied as he perused the menu in his hand.

Rukia sighed as she pretended to be ignorant of their presence and looked at the menu herself. This was so amusing. They called for the waiter and ordered two hot chocolates for the weather as well as mango cheesecake for Rukia and a an apple pie for Ichigo. He left with their orders and Ichigo suddenly reached out for her face. Rukia was nearly shocked but stayed completely still as he fixed a stray hair on her face with a smile.

"You do love torturing them don't you?" she asked.

He nodded with a smirk. "It's fun..." he replied.

She shook her head. "You're too sadistic Kurosaki..."

He raised his eyebrow and grinned deviously. "I just remembered that back in the classroom this morning, you called me Ichigo." he said.

"Did I?" Rukia said as she feigned ignorance. It was a pretty good attempt.

He nodded. "You did. I don't know how I feel about that..." he said with much malicious intent.

Rukia felt her face heat up with the tone of his voice and what it implied. "It was just a slip of the tongue... I'm sticking to last names again anyway."

"No no, it's not bad. It's just... It sounds nice. Hmm... From now on, call me Ichigo. No honorifics okay?" he said as he flicked her forehead.

Rukia held her forehead due to some stinging pain and pouted. "And you need to stop adding the chan to my name... It's annoying..."

He grinned and winked at her. "As you wish ojou-sama." he said.

She flushed red. "Oh shut up you idiot..."

"Okay, now say my name." he said evilly.

She averted his gaze. "I-Ichigo..."

He grinned mockingly. "That sounds better."

The waiter came with the food and Rukia was practically salivating from the smell of it. It wasn't everyday she ate such delectable and expensive food. She couldn't possibly pass up this opportunity. She eyed her cheesecake like it was her prey and once she took a bite of it, she was in heaven.

Watching her eat, he couldn't help but smile. She actually looked cute when she ate food like that. Not that she was his definition of cute that is...

"Like it?"

She nodded. She couldn't speak because her mouth was occupied. It made Ichigo want to laugh and kiss her senseless. He tried his own apple pie and found it absolutely delicious. It was better than the family head chef back in Germany but it was nothing compared to one of his little sisters's hobby of cooking. That little sister of his was a splendid cook.

He took a glance at his stalkers to find them stressing over their allowance but saying something like his protection and purity was worth it. Pure? What part of him was pure exactly? They shouldn't be worried over him rather; they should be worried for Rukia's welfare.

They ate with pleasant conversations and the more they seemed to enjoy themselves, the more the fangirls clawed the table. Finally, they were finished and once they were out, the fangirls followed. The walked around and took a few pictures together. The decided to walk back to his place once the sun began to touch the earth. The fangirls remained strong and followed them. With a grin on their faces, they purposely walked around in circles in the neighborhood in order to shake them off their track. It was successful and they managed to get to his apartment safely. Rukia sighed as she dropped her stuff on the table and slumped down to the floor. All that walking around was tiring.

Ichigo locked the door and slumped down on the opposite side of the table.

"Hey Ichigo... We're switching roles now..." Rukia said bluntly.

He groaned angrily. "Oh shut up, of course I know that ojousama..."

She smirked as she sat upright. "What can you do anyway?" she asked.

He groaned even more. "Some things... Ask and you shall receive."

"I'm kinda scared... If you can burn something as simple as tea I wonder what else you'll mess up."

"Be glad you're allowed to ridicule me to this extent today..." he seethed.

"Then play for me."

"There's not a single piano in the vicinity you midget."

"You borrowed my acoustic guitar remember?"

"Right..."

"Now be a good servant and go get it."

He groaned as he sat up. He went to his bedroom and came back with a well taken care of guitar. He sat down before her and checked if it was tuned. He played a few notes and began to sing.

"Soredemo subete ni higa no bori daseba mata aruki hajimete kasanaru mainichi omoi de ni naru kokoro ni tsumoru ashita ga kuru tabi mae no hou ga miete inodori hajimeteku usureru sasaina nani kani kizuki furikaeru darou

Omoi da senai kotoga hitotsu hureru tabi tachi no mateidarou nani da no ato no namae oboiteiru nara sore ga subete darou hajimetara kawaranai kotoba."

He played the last few notes beautifully before opening his eyes. Then he wondered about since when did he close them? He heard her applaud and that made him smile.

"What's that song?"

"It's called Kawaranai Kotoba... My mom and I made that song when I was little... I added in the melody when I was a bit older..."

"It's beautiful..."

"Thank you..."

"I kinda wrote a song too... With my sister that is..."

He offered her the guitar. "Then be my guest... I'd love to hear you play."

She took it but she didn't play it yet.

"Honto no tsuyosa wo mitsumeru yowa sa ni hibiku subete wo mizukazu koe hitsunda keshiki wo kono so de demukui koe wo nazo ote arukidashita"

The the guitar kicked in.

"Umahito tsumi bota kotoba no haeru kara tsuita kizu mo nagame mayotei da keredo kantaku nara omoidashita mayori no nai senagari

Henji wo mata tsui unazuku haya sana hitotsu kokoro no kyori to shita shinjite iru kara hitomi wo sora saka tooku hanareta karada no naka hibite..."

Rukia eventually stopped strumming and Ichigo gave her the same courtesy known as applause. She gave it back to him and he set it aside. "I just noticed... My song is like a reply to your song..."

She pondered over it for a while. "Now that I think about it... Yeah, it kinda is... That's odd yet pleasant in a way."

"True..."

"Tell me about your family." she said.

He breathed in deeply and looked at her straight in the eye. "That wasn't on google?"

She shook her head.

"Oh, ah well... You're bound to find out eventually." he said before sitting properly.

"Well, I'm the eldest. I have two younger sisters, they're fraternal twins actually. Yuzu is the one who shares my bright hair but her hair leans more towards blond. Karin's the one who got dad's black hair. She's not as bright as Yuzu, I'm not talking about intelligence but if I were to describe her well... She's just surly. Yuzu's the one who cooks really well while Karin's really awesome at soccer... They're thirteen right now."

"My dad's a doctor but he discovered a cure one day and from then on, he became the president and director of a prominent and powerful pharmaceutical company in Europe. No one took him seriously here in Japan. I was born here but I lived in luxury when we moved to Europe. My mom's Japanese too... I'll show you a picture sometime but she was really beautiful and all. She was a great cook and her talent went to Yuzu."

Rukia caught on instantly. "W-was?"

"Yeah... She passed away a few years back..." Ichigo said with a whole lot of sadness powering his tone.

"Oh... I'm sorry for your loss then..."

"But I've learned to cope with it... As for my dad... He acts like an idiot that it's scary... If you ever meet him, you'll understand. He's insane..." he chuckled.

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, now tell me about yours."

"I have none..." was all Rukia replied.

"What do you mean by none?"

She looked down to the floor and sighed fitfully. "I never met my parents and my older sister passed away three years ago... She had some terminal sickness I don't want to remember the name of... She was the one who raised me and worked more jobs than me to pay for my tuition... My guitar was hers... The Gibson one. She's the reason why I love music so much..."

"She didn't marry?"

"No... Never... Though she did have one boyfriend whom she had dated all her life but I never met him... She said that I couldn't see him and that's it better for me not to know him... She was really happy then whenever she talked to him or whenever she went out on a date with him. I nearly saw him once at the hospital... But all I saw was black hair... However, she said that once she was gone, he was gonna help me out... But look at me. Three years and no boyfriend around me." Rukia smiled weakly.

Ichigo scowled. "I don't understand. He loves your sister right? Why doesn't he help his girlfriend's little sister?" he said in an agitated way.

"True... I'm always hoping that he had a good reason but... Then I'd remember reality and how I'm all alone. I have no family and I have to bear my burdens on my own..."

Ichigo surged forward without thinking and looked at her sternly. His hand lay on top of hers. "You can always share the load with a friend."

"Momo and Renji?"

"Yeah..." he said before looking down and looking back at her. "There's also me."

"Did you forget? I'm working for you so that you'd stay in the club and I get paid for it. All I have to do is to entertain you." Rukia said as she snapped back to reality.

"Well, I don't want to be some heartless bastard forever... I want to be someone you can call friend eventually... Then this will all be mutual and I won't have to..."

"To what?"

He swallowed thickly. "Feel guilty..."

"You? Guilty?"

He gave her a weak smile. "I know...it's hard to believe and all... But, days passed and all and you're more than just entertainment... You're a person... You've got feelings and personalities... And talent..." he said in an embarassed way.

They stared into each other's eyes. Her amethyst eyes were locked deeply into his burning amber eyes and vice versa. There was silence as the sunset gleamed into the small room. They could hear each other's breathing and they could even hear each other's heartbeats. Heck, they weren't even thinking straight anymore.

"Kiss me..." Rukia said in a breathless whisper. "That's an order."

He face remained gentle. "Yes."

That was all he said as he closed his eyes and captured her sweet yet tender lips. His hand held her arm as he kissed her gently. He was never this gentle with a girl before. Rukia's hand snaked its way to grip his hair and to draw him closer. Ichigo felt no need to rush this kiss, he didn't want to scare her off. He wanted her presence around him. He wanted her to stay there. For as long as he could keep her there.

Rukia's arms were already wrapped around his neck. It was funny how he was simply kissing her on his knees but now she was kissing him on his lap. His powerful arms took pleasure in wrapping themselves around her thin waist. It was like they had nothing else to do but kiss each other. His ojousama ordered him to kiss her, he was damn sure to do it well.

All he could think of was how delicious she tasted and the divine sensations of kissing her. Without thinking, he pushed her down against the soft yet durable tatami matted floor. She didn't even seem to mind a bit as he ravished her completely. Her ebony hair was mussed up against the floor as he remained on top of her. Suddenly, her ringtone rang. They stopped kissing each other and Ichigo withdrew from her breathlessly. Both of them were lightly panting as they looked at each other. Rukia swallowed thickly as she moved her head to the right and reached out for her cellphone. Her other stayed intact.

She looked at the screen and clicked it. She pressed the phone against her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Rukia! How's your date."

Rukia blushed. "It's fine..."

"You sure Rukia? Have you been running, you're kinda panting."

Rukia flushed red as she steadied her breathing. "I wasn't. I'm just hanging out with Ichigo... Why?"

"Ichigo?" she asked before giggling mercilessly. "First name basis are we? That's a pretty big deal Rukia."

"Oh shut it... It's an insult to him."

"Or so you say." Momo replied. "It's getting late, you should go home... No wait! I have an even better idea! You can just head over to my place and go on a sleep over for no reason! It's a Friday after all and my parents are out of town!"

Rukia smiled. "Okay, be there in a while. Can I borrow your pajamas again?"

"Sure, mom and dad won't mind if you sleep over any day. They love you. Oh, and they won't be back until next week so the entire house is available for us to wreak havoc upon on." Momo said.

"Later." Rukia said as she closed her phone.

"Going already?" Ichigo asked.

She nodded as he stopped pinning her down. She straightened herself out and picked up her belongings. Ichigo stood up in order to escort her out. He held her arm and spun her around before she reached the door. He planted a swift kiss on her lips and spoke. "Have fun ad be safe. I don't want to go missing my maid."

She smirked. "I'll be fine you idiot.

"See you later Rukia."

"See you later Ichigo."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Tadah! As promised, I updated really fast! So I feel better with this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. So the song Ichigo sang was Kawaranai Kotoba (unchanging word) by his seiyuu Masakazu Morita. I did the lyrics by ear and I spent a few good minutes listening to the song over and over again. The song Rukia sang is called Hibiku (echo) and I did that one by ear as well so I'm sorry if there are lyric discrepancies with the official lyrics, I didn't have the pleasure of internet when I wrote that part.<strong>

**So here's the thing, a little trivia for my fellow IchiRukis.**

**Now the CD is Ichigo & Rukia's Bleach Beat Collection. Now the contents of the CD is Echo and Kawaranai Kotoba as well as glow and a bonus talk message thing where the Seiyuus comment and talk amongst themselves and I found it quite funny when I heard it because Masakazu Morita as Ichigo said Rukia was going to do a sample of their duet but Fumiko Orikasa as Rukia messed up her part on purpose and I found Rukia's tone to be so freakin hilarious but then my face looked like this O_O when I heard Oririn revert to her real voice and I asked myself: That's Rukia? But I digress.**

**Kawaranai Kotoba is said to be Ichigo's reply to Rukia's song Echo and their third song is glow a duet. So it's like a total IchiRuki album and I desperately searched for this album but all I got was the Bleach Best Beat Collection 2 which luckily had their three songs in there due to the CD's popularity.**

**Now perhaps you are thnking: Why would Rukia retort to Ichigo's Unattractive Prude comment by saying: " Well I'm not the one forcibly kis-"**

**I'm sure you know what she was going to say. "Well I'm not the one forcibly kissing people."**

**Though that's incomplete because it still doesn't make any sense.**

**What she wanted to say was: " Well I'm not the one forcibly kissing people and making them kiss back! And besides, if I were really a prude then I wouldn't have kissed back you perverted ingrate so why don't you just shove that misunderstanding of yours far up your ass so that it comes out of your mouth then you won't have to spout such utter nonsense anymore!"**

**I know it's long but we need to stop at forcing kisses or the secret's out.**

**So AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: COME ON, I CAN'T MAKE RUKIA LOOK THAT CUTE IN A SEA OF PLUSHIES COURTESY OF RIRUKA... IF UNDERSTAND WHAT I JUST SAID, KUDOS FOR YOU.**

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><p>Rukia clicked the doorbell once. She heard the sound of someone tripping and laughed before said person opened the door with a purple looking bruise on her noggin. Rukia laughed at her while pointing to her forehead making her friend blush in shame and cover it up saying that she'd put a bandaid on it.<p>

"Hey, you look cute... You really did work hard for him."

Rukia's cheeks heated up. "I didn't even try..."

"Sure you did Rukia... Sure you did." Momo said as she gestured Rukia to come in. Rukia entered after Momo and took of her shoes. She followed Rukia upstairs to her room and they sat on the bed. Rukia got rid of her jacket and her sling bag and literally plopped herself on the soft bed.

"That's nice..."

Momo raised an eyebrow. "Tired?"

"Kinda. We had to do a lot of walking to shake them off." Rukia replied as she curled up on the soft bed.

"Them?"

"The fangirls." Rukia replied brusquely.

Momo broke into a roar of boisterous laughter. "Damn... Desperate much."

"Well said Momo, well said..."

Rukia sighed. "Think they took pictures?"

"Maybe, if they did, expect news of it on Monday... Let's enjoy the weekend... And besides it's you're birthday on Monday... Ah, how fast the year goes... I mean, we were scavenging for members last year then Kurosaki-san transfers in the day after classes reconvene from the New Year…"

"Don't remind me... I'm gonna have go start working for real once I graduate." Rukia sighed.

"You're not going to a university?"

"Nah... Too expensive."

"You can apply for a scholarship, you're too smart to just simply work."

"Maybe but living in a dorm and all is gonna ba costly on my part. Look, it's just way too difficult for someone like me..."

"But Rukia-"

"I know... Just don't bother me about it... I don't want to think about it." Rukia said as she closed her eyes fitfully.

"Alright then." Momo sighed as she stood up from the bed and walked over to her closet. She pulled out a neatly folded set of pajamas and dropped it on Rukia's face earning herself a small groan from Rukia.

Rukia peeled the clothes off her face and forced herself to get up.

"Wanna take a bath Rukia?" Momo asked.

"Sure, if that's okay with you.

Momo pouted. "Of course it's okay for me. I've known you for forever. Oh! We haven't bathed together since middle school!"

"I-isn't that embarrassing."

"Don't be a prude Rukia... You're practically the only person I know who wouldn't dare enter a hot spring... Come on, let's cure that problem of yours!" Momo said enthusiastically.

Rukia sighed in defeat as she dropped the pajamas on the bed and massaged her temples furiously. "Fine fine... Go draw the bath then..."

"Knew you'd break eventually!"

"Shut up Momo." Rukia said before her eyes trailed towards Momo's laptop. She took it and asked if she could use it. Of course Momo would let her use it.

Momo went for the bathroom while Rukia turned it on. She saw the typical boot up screen and once it went to the desktop, she clicked on the web browser. She was curious about his performance and since Momo wasn't here, she could listen to him. She found a video of his performance after much searching. He was playing Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu. It was a difficult piece to play and it was easy to screw up. It was a piece that showed once's piano prowess with ease, it's a risky choice for any pianist since they make themselves so open to the audience to the point there is no sense of privacy any more. They know who you are, how you play and what you feel.

Rukia's eyes carefully watched the nine year old Ichigo Kurosaki play with such technique and musical prowess. His fingers moved so gracefully and so fluidly that he didn't look like a kid. His emotions were perfect; he understood the piece so well. The piece ended and there was applause. This was the genius prodigy Kurosaki Ichigo.

Just what happened to him?

Rukia began to update herself on what was new in the world. It wasn't every day that she could use the Internet so she wanted to savor it. Rukia was done searching and she clicked the X button. As soon as she went back to the desktop and clicked the start button to shut it down, she saw an odd file. It was labeled with numbers and jumbled letters. Why would Momo have a file like this? Rukia knew Momo always labeled her files neatly.

She clicked it to find it was a video. Before she could watch it, Momo came walking in. All Rukia saw before she left the laptop alone momentarily was a familiar head of orange hair.

* * *

><p>"Did your chest grow?" Momo said astounded as she played with the warm water.<p>

"Did it? I don't pay much attention..." Rukia replied as she looked down to her rather small chest. "Now that I think about it... My bras have been getting tight."

Momo literally hugged Rukia from behind, splashing the water all over the place. "Oh Rukia... You're becoming a woman!"

"Momo! The water!" Rukia retorted as Momo quickly withdrew.

"Ah! Sorry... At least your chest is growing, I'm still an airport runway..."

Rukia looked at her sternly as they compared chest. "Please, I'm the runway... Don't make me feel bad."

"Oh, you do care about your chest..."

"The only time a woman wouldn't worry over chest is when she's already well endowed to begin with." Rukia sighed with close eyes as the steam felt so relaxing.

"How very true... I bet the other girls in class are pissed. They're more endowed than us yet Kurosaki-san chooses to talk to the both if us. We don't get ignored." Momo replied with a smile.

That's because we have a special relationship, Rukia thought instantly.

"True, it's kinda funny actually."

Then she remembered the video she almost watched and how she could've sworn she saw Ichigo there.

Rukia stood up from the bath causing some of the water to spill. She looked back at Momo and smiled. "I'm gonna dry up first... Some of the steam's getting to my head..."

Momo shrugged. "Ah well, catch up to you in a few."

Rukia grabbed a towel and dried up. Once she was dry, she found the pajamas Momo had laid out for her. Momo placed the towel over her shoulders as she looked at the laptop again. She found the video again and clicked it.

It looked like camera footage from somewhere. She couldn't tell where the camera was and the date was from when she er... taught Ichigo history. She could hear their conversation on their way to his place. The video most certainly showed Ichigo and a bit of her. Was she carrying something? Right... Her bag. Wait... The keychain? Momo's so called good luck charm?

Then she could see where this was going. From where she put her bag, there was a perfect view of the room. The camera shook when Rukia took her notebook from her bag. The thirty minutes consisted of her teaching him on his lap.

Rukia flushed red when she saw what they looked like whenever they kissed.

This looks rather... Steamy...

What has happened to you Fubuki Rukia?

Rukia looked up when she heard Momo drop her clothes on the floor. She had already been wearing her pajamas, she dropped her school uniform. Rukia froze as the video kept playing.

"Momo?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Why do you have this?"

"Because..."

Rukia raised her eyebrow intimidatingly. It scared the shit out of anybody. "Because what Momo?"

"Uh..."

"You're not stalking Ichigo are you?"

Momo shook her head. "No! God knows I would never stalk that jerk!" she blurted out which intrigued Rukia.

"Jerk? What do you know Momo?" Rukia interrogated intimidatingly.

"That he's a rich jerk from Germany... And that you're working for him so that he'd stay in the club... Why didn't you tell me? I had to hear it from Kurosaki himself..."

Rukia bit her lip as she closed the laptop. She stood up and confronted her friend.

"Rukia... You're really cute and you don't know what the boys are saying about you... So last year, I asked Ishida-san to make me a surveillance bug just so that if that dumb jock tried to do anything to you, I'd be there with the police for harassment or something... I was worried... So..."

"You put another surveillance bug just in case Ichigo wasn't who he seemed to be... You're intuition is as correct as always..." Rukia sighed before she hugged Momo, Momo was taken aback.

"Don't feel bad Momo... What you did wasn't wrong... You were just worried right? I'd do the same for you actually... Though my only worry is how you see me now..." Rukia said in an apologetic tone.

Momo hugged her back. "You're still as awesome as ever..."

"So you've known for quite a while huh..."

"Yeah... I gave him a good slap for it." Momo chuckled.

The two friends separated. "Thank you... I slapped him once on accident."

"I saw that... It's in that video... But that's the only one... If he ever tries to do anything to you, I'll edit that video and release it to the student body. It's my precious blackmail material."

Rukia shook her head. "Ah well, at least he'll behave... Have you ever heard him play the piano before?" Rukia asked as she reopened the website with his video.

Momo shook her head as she picked up the clothes from the floor and headed over to Rukia's side. There was a small boy playing the piano with orane hair. Momo instantly knew it was Ichigo.

"This is Frederic Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu... Look at the way he plays it... The guitar isn't his speciality... It's actually the piano." Rukia informed.

"I didn't know that... I thought the Internet was wrong..."

"I found him playing Alkan..."

Momo was astounded. "A-Alkan? Seriously?"

Rukia nodded. "It was a really dark Alkan... But it felt enchanting... That's what they mean by the music seducing you... Listening to him felt exhilarating... The darkness felt addicting... It was terrifying yet awestriking at the same time... I... It's a strange feeling but it's splendid... If you ever hear him live, never leave when he asks you to and be quiet so he doesn't realize you're there... He gets too into his own music so he forgets the world around him..."

Momo grinned. "Hey Rukia..."

"Yeah?"

"Do you like Kurosaki-kun?"

Rukia flushed red. "Hell no! If I ever fall in love with that perverted jerk, that would be the end of the world!" she yelled at her friend.

Such a violent reaction, Momo thought.

Momo hopped on the bed with Rukia. "Before we prepare dinner, play Q&A with me. No backing out because this video is pretty much blackmail for you two."

Rukia scowled. "Momo..." she seethed.

"Just answer me... How many times have you kissed?"

Rukia averted her gaze as all the blood rushed to her face. "I don't remember..."

"Oh? That many huh... Is there a chance that you'd ever fall for him?"

"Actually, I do like Ichigo the pianist but then his other personalities overpower that one so no."

"When you guys were bickering this morning, did you two plan on nearly kissing?"

"W-what! I wasn't thinking that... Was I?"

"You two were eyeing each other in that way. Be thankful that the entire class is dense." Momo said.

"Oh dear..."

"Next question! Do you like kissing him?"

Rukia paused. "Kinda..."

"So is he a good kisser?"

"Extremely... It's annoying... Damn overachiever."

"Oh ho? Should I give him a go?"

She could tell that Rukia was ready to yell at her but then held her tongue. "B-be my guest... No one's stopping you."

"Rukia my dear, you're stuttering." Momo mocked.

"I wasn't..."

"Hey, I understand if you don't want to share your precious master."

"Not you too! I've had enough of hearing 'your precious master' or 'your beloved master' and on and on with his arrogant vanity." Rukia whined as she stood up. "What do you want for dinner?"

Momo beamed up and grinned. "Yay! I love your cooking! I want curry! No wait... Ah nevermind, yeah I want curry!"

Rukia sighed as she took Momo by hand and dragged her to the kitchen.

* * *

><p>Rukia was just in the middle of stirring the curry into completion while Momo was setting up the table. Momo was a bit more well off than Rukia but Rukia never took advantage of Momo's money. Her parents always had great intuition and they trusted Rukia like they trusted their own daughter. After all, they've known Rukia since she was little. Around elementary and they were good neighbor friends to Hisana, Rukia's sister.<p>

Rukia took two plates of piping hot curry and rice and placed it on the table while Momo went to the refrigerator. "Want anything?"

"What's in there that can be consumed with no risks?" Rukia asked.

"Pretty much everything... We have excess in drinks so just drain it. We won't mind." Momo said.

"Is that so? Then you know what already..." Rukia said.

Momo nodded as she got a bottle of strawberry Ramune. Rukia absolutely loved the soda while Momo settled for chilled lemon tea. The ones by nestea. Momo brought the drinks to the table and sat next to Rukia.

"Itadakimasu!"

Momo took her spoon with much enthusiasm. She dug in rather quickly and at it with much joy. She sighed at the deliciousness of the curry. She liked the way Rukia made curry, not too spicy yet it retained its full flavors.

"I haven't had curry in a while." Momo sighed.

"Really? Well I just had it a couple of days ago..." Rukia said.

"How much does he pay you?"

Rukia pointed the spoon in her direction. "That is confidential... However, I also need to cook for him."

"I envy him... He eats your cooking almost everyday."

"Actually, I make a couple of meals and stick them in the fridge for him to microwave and I've also taught him the wonders of Japanese instant rice meals..." Rukia corrected Momo as she slowly devoured the curry while Momo's plate had half of the curry annihilated.

"He really is helpless isn't he when it comes to housework and cooking. As for academics, sports and everything else, he's brilliant." Momo said as she ate the last of the curry.

"Seconds?"

"Yes please."

Rukia chuckled as she gave Momo a second helping of curry. "Here you go." Rukia said, handing her the newly refilled plate.

Rukia resumed eating hers and wondered just how deep Momo's stomach was for food? Shouldn't she be watching her weight? Ah well, Momo's allowed a freebie every once in a while.

Momo grinned. "Let's have ramen next time!"

"Go to a ramen stall then..." Rukia retorted.

"But I wanna eat your ramen!" Momo whined.

"Alright alright... Tomorrow then... ramen for lunch okay?" Rukia smiled.

Momo began to rejoice enthusiastically while Rukia massaged her temples. "I feel like a mom and your my daughter."

"You do kinda act like a mom sometimes but that's one of the reasons why I love you." Momo said sweetly as she went over to a cabinet and pulled a bunch of DVD's. She smirked.

Rukia smirked back. "We are so not sleeping tonight."

* * *

><p>His fingers moved like magic as he strummed against the sleek chords of the guitar. He did a few riffs and famous guitar solos as he played. His eyes were closed. As soon as he finished one song, his phone rang. He took it and pressed the device against his ear. He was always in a good mood whenever he played the guitar.<p>

"Hello?" he greeted as the guitar by his side.

"Sir... Kuchiki Ginrei has finally passed away... Rather, this happened fifteen minutes ago sir..."

His whole bodied stiffened and his mind began to flash with hope of what he could do with Ginrei gone. As much as the thought of waiting for him to pass away just so he could be happy was cruel, he had been waiting so patiently for years. "Cause of death?"

"It was a heart attack sir. His body couldn't handle the disease anymore sir..."

"I see..."

"Sir? His final orders was to prepare the papers for your transfer right away..."

"I see... How soon?"

"By next month if nothing goes wrong."

"Good."

Then he closed the phone.

He spent a few moments to mourn the loss of Ginrei. He had been an excellent mentor but sadly, he could not replace Kuchiki Sojun.

He looked at the guitar and held it closely.

"Sorry for the delay Hisana."

* * *

><p>Ichigo let the hot shower drown his thoughts. He was leaning against the wall as the warm water beat against his sun-kissed skin. His hair was wet and no longer spiky. He kept staring at his hand constantly as though he found something wrong with it.<p>

It's your problem... A deep deep problem... If I delve into your heart, I'll just sully it. So until you feel like telling me. I'll wait... I'll wait until you want to talk.

That's what Rukia said but...

He sighed against the wall as the water dripped down from his body.

Rukia was having such a big effect on him. Never had he met a woman who hated him. Never had he met a woman who rejected him so easily. Never had he ever met a woman who had come so close to understanding him. Did he want her to wait?

"Kurosaki Ichigo... What the hell is wrong with you? Didn't you promise not to get attached to Karakura? How the hell are you gonna go back to Germany at this rate?" he scolded himself.

The taste of her lingered on his lips unbearably.

Ichigo closed the shower and didn't even bother to dry himself thoroughly. He simply plopped over on the bed in the nude and somewhat wet. It was cold but he didn't care. He closed his eyes as he could still smell her scent in the room.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Not too outstanding but worry not, I have chapter 8 almost done so I'll have it posted by tomorrow should the time permit me to do so~ We don't have a song in here except Chopin's Fantaisie-Impromptu in which I feel that it was something Ichigo should play at the age of nine. It's a great piece to exhibit one's skill without going too far beyond your limit in my belief…. Not that I play the piano…<strong>

**So not giving subtle hints here about Nii-sama… I'm being quite obvious so the only think you'll have to worry about is Rukia herself.**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: Toshiro looks so hot in the new chapter... I don't fawn over my own creations**

* * *

><p>Rukia walked towards school slowly, wanting to enjoy the weather. She loved the cold, she practically hated summer. She only liked it because there was a month long break that came with it. She finally met up with Momo and entered the school gates together. Rukia found the scene odd when there were no fangirls huddling together in annoying groups.<p>

Rukia shook of the feeling and continued to walk inside. They switched their shoes and dropped off their instruments in the music room. As soon as they entered the classroom, she had expected to hear his annoying morning greeting but it didn't happen. Her eyes quickly scanned the room and she couldn't help but ask.

"Excuse me... What happened to I- Kurosaki?" Rukia asked a random classmate.

The average guy shrugged. "Hasn't come in yet... Maybe he's sick." he replied before resuming his conversation with his male friend about their typical playboy magazines.

Rukia shook her head at the disgustingness of it all. She walked over to her seat and sighed. That was when Momo assaulted her.

"Missing your master Rukia?" Momo teased.

She shook her head and glared at her friend. "Hell no... I'm glad he's not here." Rukia replied abruptly.

Momo had to laugh before maintaining her mocking grin. "You're not gonna miss all the things he makes you do on a daily basis?" Momo asked.

"Hell no... That rotten bastard and go to Tartarus for all I care." she replied.

"Ouch, that's harsh... But what if he really is sick? He really wouldn't know what to do."

Rukia's head sharply turned in her friend's direction. "Then let him learn." she snapped at him.

Momo sighed fitfully as she sat properly. "Oh Rukia... Be more honest with yourself... You know, ever since Hisana-san passed away, you've been different. You always immerse yourself in music as if you're trying to forget your problems and everything else, like music's your only release... You've changed a lot since then…It's been a while since I've seen you focus on something other than music. Even if that thing happens to be Kurosaki Ichigo." Momo said seriously before not talking to Rukia for the rest of the morning.

* * *

><p>Rukia finally managed to get Momo to talk to her and Rukia finally admitted that his nonexistence felt really weird as though there was something important missing. Turns out, it was Momo's elaborate ploy to get Rukia to fess up but what's done is done. Though Momo meant half of what she said. They ate on the roof top for lunch.<p>

Rukia told her everything that happened when Momo wasn't looking and Momo only had one single conclusion in mind.

"That means you're falling in love! Oh my God... You're falling in love!" then she sighed. "I wanna fall in love too I mean... Of all the people to fall in love with but then again, you have an advantage. He finds you interesting and you guys have kissed so many many times already!"

Rukia smacked Momo at the head. "I am not in love with Ichigo!"

"You say his name so passionately." Momo teased mercilessly.

"I do not." Rukia quickly retorted.

"However... You should seriously check up on him. I heard from the student office that Kurosaki-kun called in sick today... He's a rather tenacious and persistent person and if he's staying home then he must be seriously sick." Momo said in a stern tone and Rukia simply nodded as she ate her Yakisoba Bread.

"Okay okay... I'm just gonna check up on him... I can't have him dying on me before the school festival which is coming soon." Rukia said stubbornly.

"Wow... School festival already huh? We should make original songs and... You and Kurosaki-kun should totally have a duet! And and... Let's invite Nanao-senpai to play the piano! We'll be great."

Rukia's eyes glinted with excitement. "Yeah! We should do that! I'll finish my duet then let's play Listen to One Story!"

"Good thinking! Hmm... Let's do SCANDAL! They're pretty big right now... What's that song?"

"Shojo S?"

"Yeah! That one and we should get Kurosaki-kun to sing UVERWORLD!"

"Which song?"

"Koishikute, that will get the females screaming." Momo recommended.

"Good call..."

"You're pretty popular among the boys... We should give them some fanservice!"

"Absolutely not!"

"It's not fair that Kurosaki-kun is the only one giving fanservice."

"Then what do you propose?"

"Hmm... I really don't know. What's your favorite song right now?"

"Sayonara My Friend... It's stuck in my head."

"Okay, we'll do just that!"

"We're only allowed a maximum of five songs."

"So it's Shojo S, Listen to One Story, glow, Koishikute and Sayonara My Friend?"

They were happily chatting when a certain red head came barging in. His hands were stuffed in his pockets. He was rather handsome but not Rukia's type of handsome. "It's almost time you guys... Why are you screaming?"

The two girls grinned. "It's the setlist for the Cultural Festival next week."

"I need to approve it too and so does Kurosaki."

"Ichigo won't mind." Rukia scoffed without thinking. "So it's Shojo S, Listen to One Story, glow, Koishikute and Sayonara My Friend."

Renji raised one of his tattooed brows. "Ichigo?" there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.

"I meant Kurosaki... It was just a slip of tongue Renji... So, what do you think?"

"I think it's good... So what's the arrangement?" he said rather bitterly since Rukia shrugged off his problem so easily. Since when were they on first name basis?

"We're inviting Nanao-senpai for piano. I'm singing Listen to One story with Kurosaki for backup vocals. He's singing Koishikute, I'm singing Shojo S and Sayonara My Friend."

"What about glow? You're not done writing it."

"I'm finishing it, I'm making it a duet for me and Ich- Kurosaki. I'm transcribing it to the piano and Renji, we need a soft beat."

He saluted. "Aye aye ma'am."

Then the three friends left for the classroom.

* * *

><p>"Kienu you ni... Kaki nagutta... Kiyoku wo tada... Nagamete wa... Haya sugita... Aimaisa ni... Fui kaetteru..."<p>

Rukia sang as she though of how to finish her song as she walked the familiar path to his house. The sunset was just so beautiful right now. It painted the sky in a beautiful shade of orange. She enjoyed the sight and the cold. His apartment was in sight and after climbing a few stairs, she found his door. She rang the doorbell and waited but there was no reply. She sighed as she went to his mailbox and opened it. One of the envelopes was glued to the bottom so the mailman ignored it. She opened the envelope and grabbed the key. She went back to the door again and unlocked it.

Once she entered, she found the room to be rather cold. She instantly turned on the heater and made an educated guess about checking the bedroom. She opened it and found him practically half naked on the bed groaning and breathing heavily.

Without thinking, she rushed to his side and placed her cool hand against his forehead and found him to be burning up really badly. He was half asleep and he was sweating like mad. He found this temperature to be hot? This room was freezing. What the hell did he do? Rukia went to find a bunch of towels and a small tub of water. She checked his cabinets and found some medicine in them. She even took his pajamas.

Rukia ran back to her phone and called Momo to bring some ingredients for her and she didn't wait for an answer knowing that whenever she demanded like that, it was urgent. She returned to his room and transferred the heater there. She began to turn him around and wiped off all of his sweat. As she was wiping him, he woke up.

"R-Rukia...? Why are you here? What time is it..." he groaned pitifully.

"Shut up, don't talk... You're gonna tire yourself out." she ordered as she finished wiping the sweat off of him.

His amber eyes were blazing as he looked at her. "But..."

Rukia's eyes trailed towards his still glistening body and blushed but remembered that this man was literally sick. His body was actually quite nice without the shirt, he had nice firm and well defined abs she was tempted to run her hands all over.

She shook her head vigorously.

She took his pajamas and lifted him up. She helped him get the shirt on. She was slightly dismayed, she helped put his pants on and he lied down again in a groan. She shook the thermometer before sticking it into his mouth and telling him not to touch it when she heard the doorbell. She went there and found Momo.

"This is what you wanted right?" she asked.

Rukia took the plastic and checked it out. She smiled gratefully. "Thanks Momo... Seriously, thanks..."

"You sounded worried, I ran as fast as I could... Is he that bad?"

"I don't have a number but it already looks and feels bad..."

"Can I help out?"

Rukia nodded. "Sure... Come on in."

Rukia instructed Momo to prep the ingredients for some porridge and while she attended to him. She checked his thermometer and found it to he 39.06 degrees Celsius or rather, 102 degrees fahrenheit. This was really bad. She placed a towel on his forehead.

She went back to the kitchen and began to make the porridge. She instructed Momo to watch him and to change the towel occasionally. Rukia sighed as she kept cooking.

It was funny how fast she reacted when she found him burning up. She didn't even think about it... She just did it.

Fifteen minutes later, she poured some of the porridge in a bowl and grabbed a spoon, she took a glass of room temperature water and returned to Ichigo. Rukia pulled a chair next to Momo and the two of them woke him up once the porridge cooled down and they helped him sit up.

"Oh, Hinamori... You're here too?"

"Yeah, you should've heard Rukia freak out when she called me earlier. She was frantic cause you were sick." Momo mocked.

He chuckled lightly before coughing and glancing at the porridge. "Oh, did my cute maid make porridge for me?" he asked.

Momo saw a vein pop on her forehead. "If you have the strength to tease me then I think you have the strength to eat."

"I shouldn't get sick more often... If that means my little Rukia-chan's gonna feed me more often." he chuckled as Rukia moved closer. She asked Momo to get the meds Rukia found earlier.

"Shut up." Rukia said as she took a spoonful and blew it to make sure it wouldn't scald him. She fed it to him and he ate it gratefully. He tasted it before smiling.

"It's really good... You know, know one's made me porridge in such a long time..."

"Really?"

"My mom made me porridge when I was sick... But then again, my father's always busy and whenever he's around, it'd infuriating... I only get some medicine..." Ichigo replied as Rukia fed him another spoon.

He smirked at her. "Though seriously... Thanks."

Rukia blushed but she quickly shook it off. She blew another spoon and fed that to him. He ate it gratefully.

"Look, I'm gonna leave you after this. Don't go to school tomorrow, sleep and rest up. Take your meds and drink plenty of water. I'm gonna call in every few hours and don't do anything stupid. If you need me or you feel worse, I'll come over straight away you hear me?" she said assertively as she fed him another spoon.

He saluted sloppily as he consumed every bit of her of porridge. "Of course..."

Ichigo smiled and patted her head in a nice way. "Thank you Rukia... No one aside from my family has ever done this much for me..."

They were a few inches apart as they stared into each other like they had done yesterday. Their eyes were slowly closing as they inched towards each other. Their lips brushed against each other and Ichigo was kissing her. His lips were very warm while hers were cold but it felt good. They didn't move as their lips slowly moved against each other. Suddenly, the door burst open and the two separated. Both of them were beet red.

Momo raised an eyebrow as she gave Rukia the pills. She told Rukia that she needed to go and left abruptly. Ichigo and Rukia looked at each other and laughed. They smiled at each other.

"Hey Rukia... Stay for a night... I won't last without you... Just for tonight though..." he asked.

She sighed but smiled anyway. "You got that right. I don't trust you enough to take your meds..."

He chuckled dulcetly. "Yeah... I don't tryst myself either... I still have a headache right now actually..."

Rukia stood up. "I want you to sleep while I go get my clothes... Don't do anything stupid okay?"

Then she left.

Ichigo closed his eyes and sighed. What was that just now? Maybe it was his fever messing with his head. Why did he kiss her like that?

* * *

><p>She came back with a small bag. Rukia came back with some more food for most likely herself and a bit for when Ichigo got hungry later one which was bound to happen knowing his appetite. She dropped them off in the fridge and went back to his room to find him fast asleep like she told him too. She took the thermometer and stuck it in his mouth again.<p>

Rukia went back to the cabinet and brought out a futon. She went back to his room and pushed it to a corner while it was still folded. She sat back on the chair to wait for the thermometer. She took it out and sighed I'm relief when it read 38.09. That was way better than 39.06.

He was so much nicer when he was sleeping. He didn't insult her.

He woke up again minutes later with a really bad stomach ache.

* * *

><p>"How did you get sick anyway?" Rukia asked as she looked at the clock. It read eight pm in the evening.<p>

"I fell asleep while I was wet and naked." he simply replied as he took his meds and drowned them down in water.

"You what!"

Ichigo nearly threw his meds back out of his throat when she screamed at him. "Don't shout..." he said hoarsely.

"Well I'm sorry... So, answer me... Why did you do that?"

He looked away towards the wall. "I won't tell you."

He could feel her wrath slowly building up. "It's not over anything stupid right?" she asked angrily. Ichigo knew she was holding her temper.

"It's stupid... But it was a mental thing... Don't worry about it..." he replied. His head was still throbbing.

Rukia was about to snap at him angrily but she managed to hold her tongue. Ichigo was surprised how nice she was being when he was sick. If this is what it took to tame her, he should be sick more often. She breathed in deeply and looked at him. Her eyes were concerned. "If it's too personal... I won't ask you to tell me but if it's something you can tell me... Then please do."

He thought about it before smiling. "I was thinking about you."

Rukia blushed as he eyebrows scrunched downwards. "Fine, then... I don't mind of you don't tell me the truth." she said bitterly and stubbornly.

He laughed inwardly. It was the truth, he was thinking about her but if he seriously told her that it was really the truth, she would never look at him the same way.

Rukia shook her head and stood up. "You should get more rest Ichigo."

He closed his eyes and smiled. "Yeah... Help me lie down?"

She smirked. "Of course..." she said as she helped him go back to lying down. He felt kinda horrible but he presence was more than enough to make him forget he was sick.

She turned off the light and unfolded the futon in the darkness.

It was pretty early but she felt tired running all around the late afternoon just to get him at a better temperature. She slipped between the sheets seeing as though she took a bath already. She closed her eyes.

"Rukia?"

"Yeah?"

"Goodnight."

She smiled.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah?"

"You shouldn't just rely on yourself... If you need help, you can always ask me... And, I know this is too much to ask, but I want you to trust me a little more... Sometimes I feel so close to you but then sometimes you feel so distant it's unnerving..."

He smiled. "I do trust you. That's why I'm your master and you're my cute maid right?"

She shook her head. "There you go again... I'm your only friend in this country."

"Touché."

"Well goodnight Ichigo..."

Then they fell into deep slumber.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Grammatical errors shall be fixed as soon as my lazy self allows it…<strong>

**So I know I said I'd update the day after and it is true that I did finish writing a day after but the thing is, the Philippines was hit with a really strong Tropical Cyclone and it's been flooding everywhere and luckily I'm in the safer side of things, it doesn't flood much in my area. So I'm asking for your prayers, if you can, please pray for the typhoon victims and for those who have passed away or ar still missing. The Philippines has many flaws but it's still my country and I don't want my fellow Filipinos to suffer when they don't deserve it so I'm sincerely asking for your prayers if you can spare some time but I won't force you.**

**I lost electricity and therefore no internet…**

**Now then, I'm Cosplaying Rukia this weekend and if my friends are so kind enough as to take pictures of me I will post them in my deviant: moi12ica3**

**For your information, I drew those when I was twelve so IGNORE them…. Now then, if you go there and do a little math you'd guess my age, if you do, please keep it to yourself and don't announce it to the world…**

**Shojo S by SCANDAL: Bleach OP 10**

**Sayonara My Friend by SCANDAL: Temptation Box album**

**Koishikute by UVERworld: from Neo Best Sound (tentative to change to CHANCE! "**

**Listen to One story by the brother sister Kuchiki duo, love this song**

**glow by IchiRuki**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: ARE YOU SAYING I MADE BLEACH EPISODE 342 AS WELL AS DEATH MEETS STRAWBERRY 1 AND 2? EVEN DEATHBERRY RETURNS 2? I MUST BE GOD THEN... OH WAIT, THAT'S KUBO...**

* * *

><p>Rukia's slowly opened her eyes to the sound of her alarm clock. She rubbed them and allowed her eyes to adjust to the room light. At first, she wondered where she was but remembered that she slept over at Ichigo's in order to watch over him. She stood up and neatly folded the futon. She found her small bag of clothes and grabbed her necessities; she was going to have to borrow his shower while he was still sleeping.<p>

She found his bathroom fairly quickly and stepped in. She noticed how the entire room reeked of that scent of his. Rukia simply closed her eyes and told herself to finish quickly. She undressed and folded her clothes neatly before stepping in the shower. She tested out the fantastic hot water and found it pleasing. It had been a while since she took a shower like this.

Once she was through with that. She changed into her uniform and dried her hair with a towel, something she would have to wash later. Rukia stepped out quietly as not to stir him awake. He was in incredibly heavy sleeper so she doubted she could actually wake him with sounds. She sneaked off to the kitchen to make more porridge of a different variation this time and made some for herself to be her breakfast.

Minutes later, she poured the porridge into two bowls. One of them, she covered with plastic and began eating. It was nice to have real food in the morning for a change. Then she made a note for him and used the bowl as a paperweight. The note read:

"Here's some breakfast, eat it all up and go back to sleep. You know how to use the microwave at least right? Take your medicine and don't drink cold water. I made you some ramen for lunch so once again, heat it up. I'll check up on you later and don't do anything stupid... Oh, and take your temperature every once in a while."

Rukia took her bag and went back to his room to do one final check on him before leaving.

* * *

><p>Rukia went her usual path of going to school and as usual, she met Momo on her way. They chatted for a while until Momo brought up the topic.<p>

"How's Kurosaki-kun doing?" she asked

Rukia smile at her reassuringly. "Better than when I found him... I told him to stay home but she he should he better by tomorrow... That idiot was sick for the entire Sunday and he didn't tell anybody until I barged in on Monday."

Momo laughed. "For a genius, he's kinda stupid."

"Tell me about it." Rukia said while rolling her eyes.

They laughed about his him and ridiculed him some more and before they knew it, they were at the school gates. There were no fangirls flocking about in big groups following a certain somebody, it was quite peaceful again. They went to the lockers and switched their shoes before heading up to the music room and dropping of their instruments. Then they headed towards the classroom where no one with orange hair greeted them. Renji was already there looking rather content with the fact that the berryheaded eyesore was nonexistent.

They sat down and kept talking about various things but more importantly the upcoming school festival. Their class was going to officially start on their booth for the festival today once they determined what they were doing for the festival during homeroom. They waited but then the moment Kuchiki-sensei walked in, the door at the back slid open revealing a rather pale orange headed boy.

He walked in and sat down as if there was nothing wrong. Rukia suddenly felt mad, she stood up, took him by the arm and began dragging him out of the room. "Sensei, Kurosaki-san is still sick, I'm bringing him to the infirmary."

"Unohana-sensei is still not here yet... There's no attending physician." he replied before shrugging. "I'm leaving him to you then."

"I'm not sick Rukia..."

"Yes you are, you look horrible. Did you eat?"

"Yes I did."

"Take your meds?"

"I did that too."

Rukia sighed. "Look, stop stalling me and go home." Rukia said.

The class simply watched them before Rukia managed to get him out the door.

She dragged him downstairs and all the way to the infirmary. She slid the door open and got him to lie down before finding the thermometer and sticking it in his ear. She heard the beep and found his temperature to have gotten higher.

"Ichigo, its 38 degrees flat... That's worse than this morning... I told you not to go to school."

"I had to... It's the cultural festival."

She sighed as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't be stubborn... Look, let's wait for Unohana-sensei, then you can go home and don't forget to eat lunch." she said.

He smirked as he placed his hands behind his head and lied down. "Looks like you're stuck with me all morning Rukia-chan."

She rolled her eyes and glared at him. "Listen Ichigo, I want you to be there on stage with us at the festival... So I need you to be healthy... I've been looking forward to performing live with you... I've never told you our setlist... We're doing Listen to One Story, Shojo S, Sayonara my Friend, you're doing Koishikute by UVERworld and we're doing glow... We've invited our senpai from last year to play the piano so just stick to the guitar... I'll talk to Kuchiki-sensei to see if he can loan us an electric guitar."

He coughed before turning to his side. "Sounds good."

She sighed as she pressed her pleasant cool hand against his forehead. "What possessed you to go to school you idiot? I told you not to." she scolded him softly.

"As I said... The school festival seems really important to you and since the preparations officially start today, I wanted to be a part of it." he replied as he enjoyed the feel of her hand against his heated skin.

She blushed. "F-for me?"

"Yeah, for you... You've been doing too much for the sake of others... I wanted you to do something for your sake."

She blushed but she turned her head. "You can start by selflessly joining the club without the job?" she suggested.

He sneezed before speaking. "No."

Her head snapped in his direction angrily. She looked so cute when she pouted like that. It was so adorable. "You are such an ass."

"Your suggestion Rukia."

She scowled heavier. "Perverted bastard."

Then all of a sudden, Rukia began to sneeze and Ichigo watched in surprise. "Damn... I must've caught your cold... It pretty much works like mono."

He smirked. As he got up and was exceedingly too close for comfort. "Oh? Then let's turn that cold into a fever shall we?" he said in a deep husky way that sent tingles down her spine.

She glared at him and shoved him back to lying down. "No thanks pervert."

He laughed but coughed a bit more. "You amuse me to no end Rukia-chan."

Rukia looked at him sternly. "Lay it off the talking, you're gonna strain yourself... See, you're coughing more you fool."

"All I hear are excuses Rukia..." he replied.

The bell rang indicating the end of homeroom. Their teacher for this particular subject was absent so it was a free self study period. Rukia wouldn't miss too much lessons. She could always ask Momo for notes and have the genius prodigy teach her.

* * *

><p>"What's taking Rukia so long?" Renji asked as he sat casually on Momo's desk. When Ichigo wasn't around, he was usually the other center of attraction and Momo was the one on the receiving end of the stabbing glares.<p>

Momo shrugged. "Unohana-sensei just isn't available for the morning so Rukia's excused. If she doesn't watch him, he'll do something reckless."

Momo wanted to laugh at the face he was making. His crush on Rukia since middle school wasn't new to Momo. She found it so humorous. "Why does she have to watch him? What about the other girls?"

"They'll be too busy fawning over him rather than take care of him. Rukia is the only girl who's immune to him." Momo reasoned as she rested her head on the hand of her propped up palm.

His face wasn't getting any brighter. If anything, it just got darker. "Damn..." he said before watching the Kurosaki fan club group together for an emergency meeting. Momo and Renji carefully eavesdropped.

"Okay guys! Right now, that damned Fubuki is all alone with our orange prince! We need to save him most especially since he's sick!"

"What's the operation chief?"

"Operation: Reconnaissance!"

"Ahh! A brilliant plan chief!"

"Now then, let's go!"

Momo and Renji laughed when they left. "This sounds like fun." they said simultaneously.

* * *

><p>Rukia watched as Ichigo took a short nap. It took a while but she had finally gotten to at least rest up and sleep. Rukia sighed as she waited for Unohana-sensei to come. There was only so much Rukia could do on her own. She found the acoustic guitar that ended up going to the infirmary and plucked one of the beautiful strings against her slender fingers.<p>

Before she knew it, she was playing one of her favorite tunes. It was called Wedding Bell by a guitar duo named DEPAPEPE. It was a beautiful piece and if she could, she would have it played at her very own wedding. That's how much she loved hearing it. Her fingers moves flawlessly against the neck of the guitar and all those notes were nothing. It had only been fifteen minutes since he had drifted to sleep he woke up again.

"Wedding Bell?" he asked groggily as he looked at her playing form.

She nodded. "Yeah... You know it? It's rare to find people who know them nowadays... Everyone's gone to pop idols and the like, no one respects real music anymore." she replied before looking at him apologetically. "Did I wake you?"

He shook his head softly. "I wasn't too sleepy to begin with."

"Sure you were." she retorted as she kept playing. He closed his eyes to enjoy the song more. She really was good at the guitar. Her skill came from practice and experience, something he wanted to do.

He admired her skills with the guitar and he admired her beautiful voice.

He even admired her as a person. How could she live the way she lived and why was she so strong? He wasn't anything like her. He was simply hiding and running away. She faced things up front and never backed down from anything.

Her song ended fantastically and Ichigo applauded her a little. That made Rukia smile a bit when she began to play random notes involuntarily. "You're really good."

"It doesn't sound convincing coming from a genius like you." she replied.

He chuckled. "I guess you're right... But it's true... Do you plan on being a musician or do you want to debut in a band?" he asked.

"That's my dream yes but it's not a very practical dream. I'll probably do something I can do and that can keep me alive until I can land me a husband to share the burden..." she replied nonchalantly.

Ichigo got up instantly and scowled. "You can't do that!" he said angrily.

"And why not?"

"It... It's a waste, you talent that is... I can't stand watching talent go to waste!" he replied.

Rukia grew angry. Her fingers stopped playing. "And what does that make you! You're not even playing the piano! Isn't that your talent! You are such a hypocrite, why don't you criticize yourself before you criticize me!" she retorted angrily.

Ichigo was about to retaliate but he held his tongue. He stayed silent as he felt her angry gaze on him.

"Sorry... Look, go back to sleep and rest up, I don't want to be the reason why you'll be absent tomorrow and the day after." she said as she looked back down to the guitar and that was where she directed her anger rather than him.

Even now, she didn't think for herself. She still thought about others.

It was unfair for her.

He took her hand before she could continue playing and forced her to look at him. His burning amber eyes bore into her amethyst one's. "No, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that... And you're right... I'll have to face my problem sooner or later... I'm just... Not ready yet."

Rukia's eyebrows scrunched upwards. "W-wait! I-Ichigo, I didn't mean that-"

"No, you're right... Perfectly right..." he said as his warm hand stayed on hers. He made no effort to move but it's most likely that he forgot her was even holding her hand like that

"But Ichi-"

"I said it's fine... Stop apologizing, you did nothing wrong Rukia... It was just a good slap at the face really..." he said as he stared into her eyes deeply like he had done so lately.

The way he looked at her was though he wanted to kiss her. Rukia found herself forgetting herself bit by bit as she continued to stare into his intense amber eyes. Rukia finally snapped back some sense into herself and turned away. Ichigo realized what he was doing and turned away as well, withdrawing his hand.

"Rukia... Sing with me."

"What song?"

"glow... I want to sing it with you."

"Do you even know the lyrics?"

"I've heard you sing it many times... Of course I know it... Photographic hearing remember?"

She chuckled softly. "Smart bastard..."

"Go first."

Rukia play the starting chords for glow. "Ima ichibyou."

"Hi ga Moetara."

"Sora ni Tokete."

"Asa ga Kuru."

"Nemuri Kara."

"Koe wo Agete."

"Mebuite yuku."

"Sekai..."

"Ukeirerareta Nara."

"Mou kako dato kizuketa..."

"Daeiteta kanashimi no ikisaki wa..."

"Kaze."

"Sora"

"Hoshi."

"Ame."

"Tatoeba kakenukete susundemo."

"Kaze"

"Ima"

"Sono."

"Mune ni..."

Then Rukia ended the song and looked at him with a warm smile. "Hey Ichigo, I want you to be standing on the same stage as me so... Rest up and get better okay?"

Ichigo nodded as he closed his eyes and rested his head on her shoulder. "Yeah..."

"You sound great."

"Really?"

"Yeah... It's like you're the only one who can sing my duet with me." she replied.

Ichigo suddenly grabbed her wrist and looked up as if he was gonna kiss her again. Rukia knew the look but made no effort to stop him.

* * *

><p>"Ah, our Kurosaki-sama! I can't hear the conversation to well but they look... Intimate."<p>

"We can't just barge in but how will we save our prince chief?"

The group was whispering as they peeked through a small opening on the sliding door.

"Actually... This looks pretty nice."

"Hmm... Now that I think about it, Kurosaki-kun and Fubuki-san look good together and there's a lot of chemistry between them."

"Yeah... I'm starting to not mind if Fubuki-san is so close to our prince."

"They look really good together..."

"Should we be cheering them on?"

"Alrighty then! Kurosaki fanclub will now be a FubukiXKurosaki fanclub!"

"Yeah!"

"What the hell are you doing?" a rough calloused voice said in an irritated tone.

The girls looked back to find the handsome red head looking down at them. His tattoos made him look scarier than usual. The girls said nothing and scampered away. Renji raised an eyebrow and wondered what they were fussing over. He peeked through the door opening and froze on the spot.

Rukia's hands fell limply off the guitar and the guitar simply plopped on the hard bed of the infirmary. Her hand was on his necktie drawing him closer as he took her lips. His lips were warm due to the fever but she didn't mind as she kissed him softly. His hand was planted firmly on her arm as he angled his head to the side to further taste her. His tongue prodded for entrance and she allowed it without the least bit of hesitation.

Their tongues danced as things began to be more heated and personal. Rukia let out a small moan as Ichigo ravaged her. The two separated for some much needed air. Ichigo quickly flushed red and looked away.

"Sorry..."

Rukia's face heated up as she looked away. "N-no... It's my fault too..."

He held his forehead and sighed. "You remember what I said? Before that is?"

"About not working for a while right?"

"Yeah... That one."

"I think it's a good idea... Things have been rather... Tense."

"Yeah, tense..."

Rukia looked at her watch as she willed all the blood that had rushed to her face to go away.

"Hey Rukia... You're not rejoicing are you?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Her head snapped to his direction. "Of course I am... It's a break from seeing your arrogant face every afternoon."

He laughed. "Your master is wounded Rukia-chan."

"Cut it out already Ichigo... I've had enough of that master crap and Momo's already having field day with every single thing you do to me." Rukia whined stubbornly as she picked up the guitar.

"You are so tiring Ichigo... Why didn't you just stay home and take your meds normally... I wasn't able to sleep because of your constant spasms of stomach pain. And thanks to your stupid antics, I got your cold! I had to cook for you all night and check your temperature and change the towel and wipe you when you sweat too much. A goddamn nuisance, that's what you are!"

"Oh? Who was the one who freaked out when she found out I was sick Rukia-chan?"

"That doesn't count..." she retorted instantly.

"Doesn't count as what?"

"You know..."

"Hmm? Sorry but I really don't know." he said mockingly.

"That doesn't count as a master maid thing... Look, I took care of you yesterday because I was worried... You were practically burning up and half naked in the cold..."

Ichigo sneezed before lying down again. "So you do get worried over me."

"Who wouldn't when the person in question is a complete and utter idiot?"

He laughed. "True..."

Rukia sighed fitfully. "Look, just go back to sleep... If you want to do something for me then rest up and get better. When you go home, don't forget to microwave the ramen and the meds are next to the ramen. No cold water okay?"

"Okay..."

* * *

><p>"Rukia..."<p>

Renji felt his heart convulse so badly his entire chest hurt. Maybe it was his fault that he chose not to make a move sooner. Maybe Rukia would've been his if he hadn't been such a coward and now the new guy was making his move. He was too late, but how did this happen? Renji had barely seen the two together in that intimate sense before. And their conversation was most intriguing. Hearing this kind of Kurosaki was surprising, he never expected to find that he was that kind of person.

Does this mean they were secretly dating?

No, it didn't seem that way.

What were they? And they mentioned Momo. Did Momo know?

Renji clenched his fist as his eyes grew to be considerably dark. He gritted his teeth as he forced his hands away from the door and into his pockets and he forced himself to walk away.

This was seriously messed up.

―――――

Rukia was staring out the window as it began to rain. It's not that she particularly disliked the rain, she occasionally enjoyed it, it was just that she knew that another person out there hated it and he was sick. She was also worried about how she would keep her guitar dry. Maybe she would have to leave it in the music room tonight. But she didn't want to leave it in the music room.

"Worried?"

Rukia faced her best friend and nodded. "He hates the rain... And he's sick.

"He's as tenacious as a cockroach, don't worry."

"I know..."

Momo sighed as she grabbed her bass and set it in a corner. "I'm leaving this here, I don't want it wet and all."

"Where's Renji?"

Momo shrugged. "Didn't see him after dismissal, he didn't even stop by for practice."

Rukia sat down on the couch and watched the rain pour down. It was raining pretty hard. "That's weird... It's kinda sad just with the two of us. No piano slash guitar and no drums."

"True... Ah well, I'm heading off first." Momo said.

Momo exited and closed the sliding door with a soft thud. Rukia closed her eyes as she listened to the rain. In all honestly, she preferred the silence that came with the soft sunset. It was far more pleasant than the rain. Rukia picked up her guitar and remembered everything her sister Hisana taught her and she remembered how she played. Her fingers always made things magical.

Rukia began to play a composition of her sisters but was cut short when she heard the door slide open. She turned around and contrary to what she expected, it wasn't Renji or Momo. Instead, she saw a certain handsome stoic face with long black ebony hair. His face moved slightly at the sight of her.

Rukia stood up instantly.

"Ten no Hoshi..." he mumbled involuntarily but Rukia caught it.

"Ah, Kuchiki-sensei, I was about to leave." Rukia said but what he said lingered in her mind.

He shook his head as he averted his gaze as though it was tremendously painful to look at her. "No, I was just checking up on the room. It's rather late Fubuki, you should head home."

Rukia nodded as she made a split second decision to leave her guitar much to her dismay. Byakuya raised an eyebrow when he saw what she was doing. "Fubuki... You're leaving that here?"

She nodded. "I don't want it to get wet."

He walked over to her and took it from her. He went to the storeroom and came out with a waterproof case. He opened it and placed the guitar inside. "It's a little heavy but it'll keep it safe... After all, this guitar looks like it has had many precious memories."

Rukia nodded. "It does, it was my sister's."

His hand twitched when she mentioned her sister. "Is that so?"

"Yes." was all she replied as she took the guitar case. It was heavy but bearable. "Thank you Kuchiki-sensei."

He shook his head. "It's precious isn't it? It's not a problem Fubuki." he replied kindly. It sounded odd for him to sound so kind.

Rukia bowed to him before exiting. She stopped before she slid the door open. "By the way Kuchiki-sensei... How do you know that it was called Ten no Hoshi? Only me and my sister Hisana know the name of that piece..."

And the only other one who knew it was Hisana's boyfriend who was unknown to Rukia.

He was silent nor did he make any attempt to answer.

Rukia took it as a sign that she wasn't getting anything out of him. "Sorry for that... See you tomorrow sensei."

Then she left.

He sat down and sighed. "Sorry Hisana, Rukia will have to wait for a little while longer... She can do that right? After all, she's a strong girl like you."

Then he stared at the ceiling blankly. "But... She looks so much like you, it's difficult for me..." then he smiled. "That Gibson I gave you still has that scratch you made the first time you touched it... You cried like a baby when you scratched it, it was so cute... Then we wrote Ten no Hoshi on that day too... I'm surprised you taught that to Rukia..."

Then he buried his face in his hands.

"Hisana, I miss you..."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: OMG! Bleach episode 432 is such an EPIC WIN! ICHIRUKI FTW ALL CAPS RAGE!<strong>

**I was like, hell yeah and they were doing what we fanfition authors do! I mean I see people write about them hell even I write about them and they did it! Ichigo willingly held Rukia's hand or else she would slip on the ice in the ice skating rink, doubt there is one in soul society anyway but it was sooo cute and when Rukia slipped, Ichigo caught her and Ichigo mentions how he can read Rukia like an open book or something remotely similar to that! Damn… fanfirling all over the place. If you haven't watched it, I suggest you go watch it and skip whatever bleach episode you're on to see it and once Ichigo collapses from fighting a hollow at night. Then you stop watching unless you enjoy spoiling yourself. It was so ICHIRUKI and the ending, gosh I love that song Haruka Kanata by UNLIMITS, they showed characters and scenes from their respective arcs along with the number 10for the tenth anniversary of bleach…. This ending only had ichigo and Rukia in it and the scene from the manga was simply beautiful. The colors, the animation, the music the voice acting, perfect everything… hell the art of the entire episode was superb and unlike a lot of episodes in bleach, there were no awkward drawings at all! It was just so beautiful and heartfelt…..**

**That aside, if you do not DEPAPEPE you are sad, the song Rukia played was Wedding Bell but I'd suggest Summer Parade and Snow Dance for you and once again, Setlistis tentative to change because I'm debating on whether to use CHANCE or Koishikute but I'd like to stick to UVERworld…. Colors of the Heart maybe?**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: As always, I can't be Tite Kubo because only Kubo can make Rukia look that cute... All hail Harukaze by:SCANDAL and most especially Re:Pray by Aimer... the new Bleach ending makes me cry... Miki Satou is the best Rukia ever and the 2011 Burimyu doesn't compare to the first gen... if you understand me then Kudos for you**

* * *

><p>Ichigo and Rukia walked together to school just this once. Rukia ended up waking him up since when she called him about an assignment, he realized that his alarm clock was off. The two of them met up with Momo and Momo gave them the eyebrow before laughing and teasing them nonstop much to their dismays. The moment they got to school, it was weird. Weird to the infinity and beyond level.<p>

They cornered Ichigo and Rukia and began to fawn over them. They didn't glare at Rukia, rather they supported them to the point that it was scary. The only one's opposed were the Rukia supporters which were mostly male. Rukia's female admirers joined the IchigoXRukia fanclub. Ichigo took Rukia's arm and steered her away from the crowd and that single act only served to increase their fangirling.

Momo finally caught up with them and they all switched their shoes before dropping off their instruments. Momo was an exception seeing as though she left her bass there yesterday and Rukia switched back to her old guitar case nor made of something hard and waterproof.

As soon as they walked in the classroom, the girls were having their fangirl fantasies while the boys were glaring at Ichigo for no particular reason. Momo snickered as she took her seat and the couple had no clue why. They sat down and that was when the class broke the news to them.

"Fubuki-chan, Kurosaki-kun... We're doing a reprised Cinderella play and you two are the lead!" one girl shouted.

"What!" the two said simultaneously, even their heads snapped towards whomever said that.

"It's true, Rukia, you're Cinderella and Kurosaki-kun's the prince!" Momo said enthusiastically.

Renji sighed angrily, Momo could tell his jealousy was off the charts. "It's reprised. So I'm the prince's brother who's also in love with Cinderella. Momo is becomes the best friend of cinderalla, she's a noble you see."

"What? This is so reprised..." Rukia said.

"Renji, I'll do the explaining. So you know the start, Cinderella and her evil step sisters and her evil step mother. She dearly wants to go to the ball but her stepfamily won't let her. Then the fairy godmother grants Cinderella her wish and every night until midnight, she turns into some beautiful princess. There are balls every night at the palace since its a kingdom of merriment. Cinderella goes every-night and meets the people of the castle. Turns out, the kingdom was created by the sad prince who wanted to make people happy so he made this illusion of happiness so no one will be sad. Cinderella will convince him that sadness and suffering is a part of life and it makes people stronger. True happiness can be achieved if one knows suffering so he breaks the illusion and starts a new life with Cinderella."

Ichigo smiled. "Sounds interesting..."

"So the side characters are a twist and Cinderella is supposed to be torn between Ichigo and Renji. Does she love the dark and sad prince or does she love the more happy and understanding prince? That's what we want our audience to be conflicted over." Momo said.

"So I'm the dark one and Abarai over there is like the best friend type of prince?" Ichigo asked.

"In layman's terms... So some of our classmates spent all of last night to make our script early..." Momo said before taking out two small books and handing them to Ichigo and Rukia. "Memorize them okay, ad-lib if you must."

Ichigo and Rukia scanned through the book and froze at the final page. They looked at the class and yelled. "We're kissing!"

"Why do you two have a problem with that... You do that everyday." Momo whispered.

"But it's in public." they reasoned together.

"Deal with it, just don't get carried away like you two always do." Momo said as she ignored their demands.

"We don't get carried away!" they retorted.

"Oh? Do I need to show you the video?"

"No!"

Momo laughed. "Damn, you two are fun..."

Then the class began to chant sample again and again until Ichigo and Rukia were forced to go to the front and ad-lib their acting after scanning through the section of the script their class demanded. Three, two, one and action.

"My good prince!" Rukia said dreadfully as she suddenly rushed to his brooding form and held his shirt from behind. "Do not blame yourself... I... I shouldn't have said that."

He didn't turn around but he moved his head to look at her. "Cinderella... It's just that... I've never thought of it that way before... Sadness as a pathway for happiness. I admit that it's an interesting path." he said with a warm smile.

Rukia rested her head against his back. "Prince Julian... It's true... I've always suffered despite your illusion... I still did suffer because an illusion cannot affect the way people act... But... Remaining by your side, I'm happy... If at all possible, I want to heal you for the rest of eternity..."

He turned around and cupped her cheek softly. "Cinderella... Are you truly happy?"

She nodded with a sincere smile. "I am... Because I... I've never loved someone like this before..."

"What about Cain? I thought you loved my brother?"

"C-Cain? Yes I love him... B-"

"Don't waste your breath on me. Go to him" he said as he withdrew his hand but she caught it and gave him such a sad look.

"Wait! I love Cain but I'm not in love with him... I'm in love with you Julian! But I'm afraid... I'm afraid that you only see Cinderella the princess and not Cinderella the girl..."

He hugged her tightly and played with her ebony hair. "I love both of them, rather I love you... Every moment spent with you has given me happiness... It gives me the courage to face the darkness... But I can't face it alone... Will you face it with me?"

"Julian..."

Ichigo leaned down and gave her an inconspicuous kiss to the cheek and the two of them returned to their seats after a standing ovation.

"Oh my God! You two are perfect! You act as if you really were in love!" one girl squealed.

"Fubuki-san! Do a scene with Abarai-kun!"

Rukia sighed as she looked at Renji. "Shall we Renji?"

It's been a while since he had her attention like that. He smiled. "Yeah..."

The two went to the front and began to act.

Renji held her wrist and began to yell at her as what the script demanded. "Cinderella! Were... Were you leading me on! Was I nothing to you when you were having secret rendezvous with Julian the entire time! I thought... I thought you loved me!"

"C-Cain! I never said I loved you... Well yes, I love you but I'm in love with your brother... You've changed Cain... You used to be so kind... What happened... You've been so cruel lately..."

"I... C-Cinderella..."

Rukia tore her had from his grip and gave him a faux slap on the face. "Cain... I'm sorry if I led you on but that is by no means intentional! You were a great companion Cain but I don't love you that way... I love you as a friend... That's it..."

Then Rukia walked away with a standing ovation and Renji thought of it a bit more personally. Then more people shouted.

"I honestly don't know who to cheer on... Julian and Cinderella or Cain and Cinderella... If we're conflicted then it's all good!" the one girl shouted.

The class reached an agreement before Kuchiki-sensei came in.

* * *

><p>Rukia walked towards the music room and remembered what had happened yesterday. Her encounter with Kuchiki-sensei made her so suspicious of him. After thinking about it, she realized that he was already giving off so many signs.<p>

First of all, he tends to stare at her involuntarily as though she looked like someone her knew. Another was that he always had a hard time saying her name, so much that Rukia wanted to tell him that he could call her by her first name. Rukia always thought of him as the worse music teacher ever, if that were truly the case then why did he know about that guitar case. Most average people would've advised her to plastic wrap it but he offered her the case.

The most suspicious one of all was that how he knew that the song she was playing was called Ten no Hoshi. That was something, her sister wrote with her boyfriend and that song was only performed to Rukia and Rukia only. How did he know?

As Rukia walked, an image flashed in her mind. She was walking to her sister's hospital room when she saw someone with long black hair, a man exit the room. Rukia had never seen him before so she assumed that the man was her boyfriend. Who else would visit Hisana and was male?

She shook her head and opened the door to the music room.

"Why is it that it that this year, I get all the crap shoved at me." Rukia whined as she took her guitar and brought it out of it's case.

"Why can't I be in the average working class? Why can't have normal friends and get normal boyfriend and just be normal?"

"Well you can't so deal with it." a voice from behind said.

"Don't do that idiot... I would've thrown you out the window if I didn't know it was you... Out of self defense of course." Rukia replied with a smiled as she looked back to fine familiar orange hair and that arrogant smirk that infuriated her to no end.

"Well you didn't so all's good." was all he replied as he walked up to her.

"All's good my ass." she retorted as she ignored how close he was to her. This was getting old and annoying.

"If you want..." he said as his arms snaked around her before she could register the act. He was practically breathing on her neck already. "I'll be your boyfriend if you're so desperate for an average life."

She tried to squirm her way out but he was far too strong for her as usual. "You're the complete opposite of normal... Hell no, I'd rather go to the depths of Tartarus and back out than be your girlfriend. You are so hate-able..." she said angrily as her temper began to build up.

He was silent and she could no longer feel that smirk of his. "What part of me do you hate?"

"Everything..." she replied quickly, her own temper was blinding her.

"Define everything." he demanded. His voice was just like that afternoon when Rukia found him playing Alkan.

She breathed in deeply. "That infuriating smirk of yours... Whenever you do that, it feels like you're looking down on me. That god awful personality of yours... You can be such an ass yet... You can be so nice I don't know which one's Ichigo... I hate that stupid mouth of yours that keeps spouting out nonsense... I hate how you have me wrapped around your finger like I'm a toy, your play thing..." she said.

She felt his arms slacken and that was when she turned around to finally see his expression. His expression was unreadable, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. "I also hate how you make me feel special because I know you so well but then you also make me feel disposable... It's like you're going to throw me away once you're bored... I can't stand it." she said, her eyebrows were slanted downwards and her mouth was curved to a scowl.

"I feel bad for telling you all of those things but then you make me feel that I made the right choice by telling you all of that... Not even Renji knows about my sister that much... You know just as much as Momo yet you're a total stranger..." Rukia said.

"Rukia... I..."

"And don't you dare feel sorry for me now after all that you've done." Rukia said before walking away from him and grabbing her guitar and plugged it to the amp. She needed an outlet, all that pent up stress was leaking out and she was lashing it out on him.

She sighed as she played an opening riff to a song. One minute into the song and she realized that didn't move. She stopped playing and looked back at him. "Don't tell me your sulking."

"I-I'm not sulking..." was his immediate response.

Rukia sighed. He was acting really odd today. She walked up to him after putting her guitar down. She pointed to his face. "Please, that face is a sulking face."

"I don't sulk."

"You're doing it now."

"Get real midget, I'm Kurosaki Ichigo. I don't sulk."

"Do I need to take a picture of you?"

"No..."

"Don't tell me your fever's coming back." she said as she placed her hand against his forehead. Ichigo gently took her hand off.

"I'm fine..."

"If you're fine then stop PMSing."

He scowled heavily. "I am not PMSing... Rather boys can't do that."

"Yes, well you are..."

"I'm not..."

Rukia crossed her arms after an exasperated sigh. "See... This is one of the reasons why I dislike you. You're so close right now but your face is practically begging for someone to open you up... If you want to keep things to yourself then stop making that face!"

"I'm not being closed!"

"You are... Look, I ask a question and you don't answer it. I ask if something's wrong and you say nothing. I ask if you have a problem, you say nothing and when I point out whatever it is that might be your problem you get mad at me for no reason! Did I not define being closed minded!" Rukia said angrily.

It was this kind of Ichigo she hated the most.

"It's none of your concern anyway."

Rukia gritted her teeth and clenched her fist. After all they've been through, he tells her it's none of her concern.

"Tell me Ichigo... What am I to you?"

He seemed taken aback by this question. "I'm your master and you're my maid."

"Is that it?"

"Yes... That's all there ever was..."

Rukia directed her amethyst eyes towards his burning amber ones to see if he was being truthful. He wasn't totally being truthful.

"Oh... So it's just employer and employee?"

"Yes, that exactly what it is."

She kept her temper in check. "Does an employer tell his employee about his family? Do things and play the piano he swore to never ever play for his employee?"

He didn't answer.

"And does the employee go all the way just to take care of her sick employer?" Rukia asked angrily before unplugging the wire from the amp without turning it off first without thinking. It made an unpleasant sound, an amateur mistake but she couldn't care less.

She suited up her guitar again and began to trudge off with her belongings. "I think we've gone past that employee employer line. Because everything you're saying now sounds like bullshit to me because if that were the case..."

She turned back and gave him a pained look. "If that were really the case then I... told a guy whom I thought could've been my friend a lot of things I've never told anyone except Momo before..."

Rukia left the room angrily. She shoved past Momo's shoulder and surprised her along with Renji who was trailing Momo while spinning his drumsticks absentmindedly.

The two walked in the music room to find Ichigo staring at his hands.

* * *

><p>Rukia forced herself to stand up from her book to address the doorbell. She stumbled over a small pile before finally reaching the door and opening it to find her best friend with a plastic containing a tub of strawberry ice cream. Rukia smiled. "Seriously... Strawberry?"<p>

"We'll laugh about it... Now come on, I can sleep over." Momo said before pushing her way past Rukia and eyeing the pile of books on floor with a raised eyebrow.

"Seeing as though you're television set is nonexistent, I'm brought my laptop over..." Momo said before putting her things to the side.

Rukia closed the door and fixed up the pile of books she accidentally knocked over earlier. She sat next to Momo and rested her head on her shoulder. "Thinking about it now, I don't know why I was so upset. I feel like I just got dumped by a boy but it wasn't like that..."

"Rukia... Let's face it... There's only one reason why you're so upset... You're falling in love." Momo said as she opened the tub of ice cream.

"I'm not... Seriously, in love with that asshole? You can't be serious..." Rukia replied before looking up to Momo. "Am I?"

"It's up to you... I was just guessing but what happened."

"I stupidly let my temper run wild."

Momo chuckled. "Not that." she said before offering Rukia a spoon.

Rukia took it and stole the tub from Momo's hands and took one big scoop and devoured it quickly. "So I came in the music room mumbling to myself saying things like why can't I get a normal boyfriend and normal blah blah blah, so on and so forth."

"Keep talking."

"So being the usual ass he is, he snuck in again and greeted me like the usual... Then he jokingly hugged me from behind and said: If you're so desperate for an average boyfriend then I'll be boyfriend... Or something along those lines. So naturally, I said no because he was such a hate-able man... But then he stopped smirking and began to ask what I hated about him. I told him that I hated the way he smirked because it always felt like he was looking down on me. I said that I hated that mouth the spouted off nonsense..."

"I said that I hated his personality as how he made me feel like I was so close to him before making me realize he was so far away... I said I hated how he had me like a puppet on strings, all wrapped up around his finger like a play thing. I said that I hated how he makes me feel special by being the only other person to know so much about him but I also feel disposable. Like once he gets bored, he'll throw me away like I never mattered to him not even by a millimeter."

"I hated that I told him things I've only told you and that all he said was that I was the employee and he was the employer... I snapped. I was pissed because I honestly thought he could've been my friend given enough time but turns out... I'm just his maid... Nothing more and nothing less..." Rukia said bitterly.

"Rukia..."

"That's just the short of it... Actually... After I told him about why I hated him, he just stood there as I played the guitar for a full minute... Then I asked if he was sulking he said no... But he really did look like he was sulking. Maybe his fever came back so I checked but he just brushed my hand aside. Then I got mad, I asked why he was being so close then he said he wasn't. I just felt a bit betrayed... Before I knew it, I trusted him and he didn't even trust me back... Maybe I have no right to ask him for personal things but... But... Why didn't he say anything?"

Momo also took a spoonful and ate it before speaking. "I can see your point but your temper is partly to blame... You ran your mouth and you probably hurt him."

"I just got carried away... Maybe it's the stress..."

"Maybe..."

"I'll tell you another thing... You know about the Hisana's boyfriend who never showed up?"

"Yeah..."

"I think he's Kuchiki-sensei..."

"That is the worse joke ever."

"I'm not joking... Hisana wrote Ten no Hoshi with her boyfriend. She performed it to me and I performed it to you so only we know it... Yet, when I was playing it, he knew the title... It's just not possible for him to know. He was also the one who gave me the guitar case to keep my Gibson dry."

Momo looked at Rukia before looking out to the starry night sky. "Living like this for three years then some jerk makes your life harder... Then you find that boyfriend who never came to be closer than you thought and he never said anything nor did anything to help you an inch. Then you grow close to Kurosaki-kun but he tells you that there wasn't a bond to begin with... I can see where you're coming at." Momo said.

"I don't really get myself anymore..." Rukia admitted.

"The big question is... Who is Kurosaki Ichigo to you." Momo said.

"He's..." Rukia said as she closed her eyes.

Rukia, if you have problems... Try asking yourself. Maybe you already have the answer.

But onee-san... it's not easy.

"Ichigo is... A special friend... I feel like I've known him forever... He makes me want to trust him..."

"If you know that much then you can tell who the real Kurosaki-kun is."

Rukia nodded. "Music never lies..."

Rukia kept her eyes closed as memories flooded in. The day they met and he played Alkan, when he taught her how to play some piano, his Clair de Lune, their duets together, when he transcribed glow into piano. That time after the date when they stared at each other along with when he was sick and when they were in the infirmary. When he hugged her on the rooftop and when he kissed her when she was going to Momo's house.

"How do you know you love someone? You've been in love once..."

Momo laugh. "That was a really bad crush but... You're heart beats faster when you see him. When he's happy, you're happy... There are sparks when you kiss and somehow you feel like you want to be with this person forever... There's something about him you can't get enough of like maybe his eyes or something... It's hard to explain..."

Hmm... There were some times when her heart would beat faster... Whenever he smiled a real smiled, she felt like smiling but it just made her flush red. There were those awkward kisses and... It was in those times when she would stare into his eyes and time would pass by without them noticing...

No! No No No!

She wasn't in love with Ichigo!

Rukia grabbed the book she was reading earlier and threw it against the wall angrily. Momo was just smiling. "I'm not in love with him!"

"Denial is just the first step my dear."

"Who would be in love with an asshole like him!" Rukia yelled angrily as she began to stubbornly stuff her face with strawberry ice cream.

"I mean come on! He's a jerk! A real womanizer! He's a stupid genius who can speak five languages fluently and another ten languages at preschool conversational level!"

"Keep telling yourself that Rukia."

"No, I can't be in love with him! It makes no utter sense!"

"Love makes no sense Rukia..."

"B-but... But I..."

"Rukia... Stop denying things..."

"I... I'm..."

Momo was silent. She gave Rukia a couple of more minutes. There was no room for doubt. Ichigo was the only guy who could make Rukia like this.

"I'm... In love with him...?"

"What do you think?" Momo smiled as she watched a very confused Rukia.

Rukia's heart began to beat faster and faster. She felt it swelling up in her chest. She gripped the tub of ice cream in her hands as her chest felt light. Her eyes were wide as her mouth quivered slightly.

"I love Ichigo...?"

* * *

><p>Ichigo was lying down at his bed in the dark. He looked at Rukia's name listed in his phone as his eyes constantly lingered to the call button. Maybe he should apologize, he got her really mad after all. Ichigo looked away and curled up on the bed with a pillow against his chest. He felt guilty, in a painful way. That was wrong of him to shut her out like that when what she said was true. They were already beyond the line.<p>

But it hurt when she talked about what she hated about him. Was that how she thought of him? Did he make that bad of an image to her?

Now he needed to apologize... Would she still be awake at the middle of the night? He clicked the call button and waited for her to pick up. Surprisingly enough, she did. She heard her say hello and he greeted her back.

"Ichigo?"

"Yeah... It's me..."

"Wh-why are you calling so late?"

"I... Wanted to apologize..."

"What for?" she asked.

"For earlier... It was wrong for me to shut you out like that... You deserve more than the way I treated you and you're right... We have crossed the line..." he said before swallowing thickly. His heart raced as he talked.

"You wanted an answer right? I'll give you one... You're a precious friend to me... You're the only friend I have in this country and truth be told... You're the only person to have ever been this close to me..."

"Ichigo..."

If only she knew how much he loved hearing her say his name with her dulcet voice.

"Yeah... So I'm sorry..."

"I should apologize... I let my temper get the better of me."

"It was my fault."

"But I'm partly to blame Ichigo..."

He closed her eyes. "Rukia... Can I hear your voice?"

"You hearing it now aren't you?"

"I want to hear you sing."

"What song?"

"Any..."

He heard her clear her throat.

"Nobody knows who I really am

I never felt this empty before

And if I ever need someone to come along

Who's gonna comfort me and keep me strong

We are all rowing the boat of fate

The waves keep on comin' and we can't escape

But if we ever get lost on our way

The waves would guide you through another day

Tookude iki wo shiteru toumei ni nattamitai

Kurayami ni omoe takedo mekaku shisarete tadake

Inori wo sasagete atarashii hi wo matsu

Azayaka ni hikaru umi sono hate made

Nobody knows who I really am

Maybe they just don't give a damn

But if I ever need someone to come along

I know you would follow me, and keep me strong..."

"You've got good English..." he commented.

"Are you happy now?"

"Yeah... You're voice... is really beautiful Rukia... I hope that a day would come that we'd be up on the same stage... You singing with your guitar for the world while I back you up with my piano and vocals while Hinamori adds some soul into it with the Bass and there's Abarai adding the beat."

Rukia smiled from the other end. "I'd like that."

Ichigo opened his eyes and smiled. "Goodnight Rukia."

"Goodnight Ichigo."

The line went dead and he continued to stare at the ceiling.

"This feeling... It's new."

* * *

><p><strong>AN Yosh~ Sorry for the delay, I've realized that I've neglected my more active fic so I focused on that one since it's my priority one so I'm sorry but here it is…..<strong>

**So Song here is Life is like a boat by: Rie Fu**

**I'm a bit anxious because I might have been too fast to pull this off~ ah well….**

**Don't expect an update soon~**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off~**


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH**

* * *

><p>"Three, two, one and action!"<p>

Rukia began to dance with Ichigo as some music played on the radio. They danced swiftly with Rukia fumbling over her steps, it was barely noticeable to the class director of the play thought it unnecessary to correct it immediately. With Ichigo leading her, she wouldn't suck as much but right now, she needed to remember her lines.

"Fine evening is it not my prince?" she asked as she did her very best not to step on his toes.

He smiled charmingly as he continued to lead her. "Well..." he said as he spun her around and held her again. "Having balls every evening takes it toll on the host."

"Then why host such balls every evening?"

"Balls are the symbol of merriment and seeing as though this kingdom is always filled with glee, we are proud to host balls every evening." he replied just as the music stopped.

They bowed towards each other for formality purposes. He took her hand and kissed it. "I don't believe I have ever seen you before... May I know your name fair maiden?"

"I-It's Cinderella my lord..."

He smirked. "No need to stutter my -dear... You deserve such compliments Cinderella... Please, call me Julian." he said charmingly it was supposed to make Cinderella swoon. Though secretly, it made Rukia want to swoon as well.

"If you insist Julian." she said in an embarrassed way.

Some classmate played the sound of a bell tower and Rukia withdrew her hand from his. She bowed to him and bid him farewell despite his offers for her to stay. She pretended to nearly trip the stairs and that was when she slipped her shoe off. Then the director shouted: that's a wrap and everybody applauded.

"We'll have this play scored in no time." Momo said as she sat down in one of the auditorium seats.

The continued to applaud the two main stars. Everybody took five and left the building to hit the cafeteria for some food but Ichigo and Rukia stayed on the stage while Momo secretly slipped to the darker parts of the auditorium's seating area. Ichigo snuck behind Rukia and sneaked a kiss to her neck earning a pleasant reaction.

"You cannot do that." Rukia said angrily as she turned around to face him. That infuriating smirk was plastered on his face.

"Yes I can, I'm your master. Now entertain me for five minutes Rukia-chan..." he said as he walked up to her and held her on the spot.

Rukia sighed. He's reverted back to his old ways, so much for being enlightened. "Okay fine... But teach me how to dance." Rukia said.

He grinned. "Sure thing..." he said as be walked over to the radio. He fumbled over the CD's and looked back. "Pick a song."

"It's your pick..."

Ichigo laughed as he walked over to Rukia. "Do you want to hear Salagadoola mechicka boola bibbidi-bobbidi-boo put 'em together and what have you got bibbidi-bobbidi-boo..." he sang jokingly as he pretended to be the fairy godmother of Cinderella.

Rukia laughed hard at his dumb gesture. "Get real Ichigo!" she blurted out as she was at the brink of tears with his impersonation. Ichigo laughed with her as he walked back to the radio and stopped playing the ridiculous song.

Ichigo laughed when he saw the title and clicked it. Some sixties music came in along with jazzy orchestra and the trumpets and all. Rukia put her hands to her mouth and began to laugh. "My god... Frank Sinatra? Why is that there!" Rukia laughed.

Ichigo smirked. "Who knows?" he said as he one hand held her hand and the other held her waist. Rukia's other hand found it's way to his arm. "Follow my lead."

Ichigo began to take the first step and he guided Rukia every step. Sinatra's vocals kicked in and Rukia felt like laughing but she found it kind of sweet to be dancing to The Way You Look Tonight. "Of all the songs... This is a classic."

"Look Rukia, you're dancing." he said and Rukia noticed that she wasn't stepping on him anymore. Rukia smiled as she kept dancing with him to the Jazzy music.

Ichigo spun her around and had her back against his chest when she spun back before spinning her back to place. He began to sing just to tease her.

"Yes you're lovely, with your smile so warm and your cheeks so soft, There is nothing for me but to love you,

And the way you look tonight."

Rukia chuckled as he sang. He sang it nicely, good english and all. "You are so cheesy..." Rukia said smiling, her cheeks were killing her with how much she was laughing.

Ichigo made her yelp by pulling her a bit closer. "Come on, sing with me." he said with a smile as he pressed his forehead against hers. Rukia laughed again as she began to sing with him.

"With each word your tenderness grows, tearing my fear apart... And that laugh that wrinkles your nose, it touches my foolish heart."

Ichigo spun her around again and she managed to execute it perfectly. They danced a bit more but they were inching closer to each other. "You're a good teacher."

"Is that so?" he said with an amused tone.

Ichigo spun her around so that her back was pressed against his chest again. He was practically hugging her as she laughed the kind of laugh he enjoyed hearing. He began to sing to her once more but it was softer.

"Lovely ... Never, ever change. Keep that breathless charm. Won't you please arrange it ? 'Cause I love you ... Just the way you look tonight."

The music kept playing to it's end and they could hear Sinatra's last few lines before the song ended. Ichigo closed his eyes as they danced softly, he was already inhaling her sent. Rukia's head looked up and met burning amber eyes once he opened them again. And there was that feeling again. That pleasant yet unexplainable feeling. Ichigo leaned down and Rukia tiptoed to reach him. They kissed on stage while Frank Sinatra was playing in the background softly.

Momo smiled from the back. No doubt about it, these two are perfect for each other.

Somewhere by the curtains backstage was a certain redhead who was watching the entire time. The jealousy was eating him whole.

* * *

><p>"You seem to be in a good mood... Did something happen this morning?" Momo asked as she ate her curry happily from her bento box.<p>

Rukia shook her head as she continued to hum Sinatra's The Way You Look Tonight. "It's nothing..." she replied as she consumed her melon bread with much joy.

"It's not nothing, you're so happy it's scary." Momo said knowing full well why she was in such a good mood."

"Seriously... It's nothing."

Momo gave up. "I was in the back when you guys were dancing to Sinatra and kissing afterwards..." stated bluntly.

Rukia flushed red. "Y-you did?"

Momo nodded and Rukia's rivaled that of Renji's hair. She ate her melon bread silently before speaking. "Oh... We were just practicing." Rukia said pathetically.

"If that how you want to call it." Momo said in a way that would most definitely make Rukia feel bad and spill the beans. Though she was secretly happy on the inside.

"It's true!"

"Yeah yeah... Aww... Our little Rukia's growing up and chasing boys now. I want to be in love too." Momo sighed as she pretended to mourn the fact of her 'growing up'.

"W-what do you mean by that!"

"Nothing." Momo grinned.

"For the record Momo, I am not in love with that jerk." Rukia said with a finger pointing at het friend.

Momo shook her head and sighed heavily. "I thought we were through this Rukia... Why are you shifting back to denial phase... It's just so obvious considering the auditorium thing... Ah well, I'm sure you two have no issues kissing each other but what you should take note of is which ones have the sparks and which ones are just run by hormones..."

"Is... That so?"

"Yeah, of course it matters."

Rukia paused. "Can't I enjoy the moment?"

"You can but it's not gonna last forever... You need to not just live it but to seize the moment Rukia... Another guy like him doesn't come everyday." Momo said.

"I'll admit that much but I never said I was looking for a boyfriend."

"Technically speaking, you two are at the mutual understanding stage. You're at borderline relationship." Momo said as she finished off her curry.

"We are not."

"Suit yourself then..." Momo shrugged.

Momo really wished that Ichigo was more decisive and tactfully rather then indecisive and tactless. If he was sharper, he would've asked her out by now but looks like he's scared of commitment considering how much he liked to screw around in Germany. Though not once was it ever mentioned that he had a girlfriend so maybe he was scared of commitment. The guy had obviously never been in love before.

These two were just so cute.

They heard a small commotion and faced that direction. Apparently, Renji just shoved past Ichigo and Ichigo nearly fell off balance from it. Ichigo didn't take much offense to it but his fans did. Rukia stood up followed by Momo. Rukia found her way and found Renji at the brink of grabbing Ichigo's collar, gritting his teeth and all. Rukia placed het hand on Renji's arm and gave him a stern look.

"Renji... What do you think you're doing."

He grew angrier but he held it in. "Why should I apologize to this jerk... He's..." Renji said before cursing under his breath and stomping back to his seat.

Rukia sighed as she fixed Ichigo's rumpled shirt and asked if he was okay. He nodded and simply asked what was up with Renji. Rukia shook her head and replied that she didn't know.

"But Ichigo... Renji normally doesn't do that... Did you do something to piss him off?" Rukia asked softly as the IchigoXRukia fanclub was watching intently.

He shrugged. "I honestly don't know... Did I do something? Did I finally pissed him off?" he asked.

"I'll have a word with him." she said.

He grinned. "You act like my girlfriend." he joked.

"Get real Ichigo... As if I'll ever date someone like you." Rukia rejected him.

Ichigo laughed as he flicked her forehead jokingly making her pout. "That's what I thought." he said before walking back to his chair. A cute Rukia was enough to recharge him.

Rukia sighed as he walked past her. She looked at Momo with a worried expression and knowing Renji, there was no way he was telling Rukia. Momo was the one you turn to to get people to talk. She was good at interrogating people, she knew how to make you cough it all up. Useful yet sometimes harmful.

Rukia went back to her chair and decided to leave it to Momo. Once it has been decided that their teacher was absent again, Momo talked to him. He was in the second row but he and Momo were at the same column. She sat at the empty seat behind him, the owner of the seat was busy talking to someone in the opposite side of the room.

"Hey pineapple." she greeted mockingly.

He groaned, he looked rather scary. "What do you want."

"Oh nothing much, what's up with you." Momo said casually while in the corner of her eye, Ichigo was relentlessly and deliberately pissing Rukia off. The result would most likely be hilarious yet chaotic.

"Nothing much." he replied.

Momo leaned forward. "It's not nothing Renji... I've known you since middle school, don't lie to me."

"And so does Rukia, since middle school she's known me and she knows I don't have a problem so just shove off Momo." he replied irritatedly.

Momo sighed. Yes, her patience was loamy but there was only so much she could tolerate and it only took him one sentence for him to inch hugely to her limit. "Stop PMSing... Don't tell me you're going through Manopause already?"

"I'm not PMSing and what the hell is a Manopause."

"You know... Menopause for men." Momo replied brusquely.

Renji groaned angrily. "What the hell do you want! Get to the point."

"The Renji I know doesn't shove people on purpose and suddenly claim that it was their fault... Did Kurosaki-kun do anything to you?" Momo asked in that tone that usually succeeded in getting Rukia to feel guilty.

"Like hell he did... His being here messed everything up... I've never seen Rukia like that before..." he said bitterly.

It was true though. He only met Rukia after Hisana died and he didn't know much about Rukia's sister.

"Renji... You need to understand that Kurosaki didn't change her." Momo said sternly.

He looked at her as if she was crazy. "What? Of course he did... She's just different now..."

"Listen Renji... You like the wrong Rukia... You fell for the wrong her..."

"I... What're you sayi-"

"I'm saying that you don't know Rukia and that Kurosaki understands her just as much as I do and as much as I hate to admit this, he may even understand her more than I do... The Rukia you know is broken... The real Rukia was always smiling, feisty and full of life. She stood for what she believed in and she never backed down from a fight."

"But... Rukia's quiet... She always smiles silently and she doesn't argue with people the way she argues with him." Renji reasoned but spat when he mentioned Ichigo via pronoun.

Momo sighed. "That Rukia is broken... She was empty and I find myself thanking Kurosaki-kun everyday for bringing some life into her... I'm sorry Renji but you waited too long. Rukia's falling for him..."

Renji saw red as he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. He didn't want to see that orange hair nor did he want to hear anything that was spilling from Momo's mouth. "That can't be true..."

Momo just watched him break down on the inside and that was when it finally dawned on her. Renji probably saw something that should never have been seen. "Renji... What did you see?"

"Ain't it obvious enough? I saw them kissing." he stated bluntly.

Momo's entire being began to quiver slightly. This was Renji they were talking about and what Ichigo was doing along with Rukia's consent wasn't exactly socially acceptable. This would be bad on her record and she wouldn't be able to keep her scholarship.

"Look... You don't understand... Promise me that you won't mention this to anyone..." Momo said. Her tone was near begging. Anything but Rukia's scholarship, if other schools find out she flunked her scholarship then it would be highly unlikely that she would ever be offered another one.

After all, the scholarship student must consistently stay on the top spot and excel in the academics as well as keep a clean record or the scholarship's off.

Momo highly doubted that doing inappropriate things at school was acceptable to colleges and universities. They don't expect that from the scholarship student and most likely the valedictorian upon graduation.

"Why should I do that... So you do know things... Tell me."

"I can't tell you."

"Then I can't promise anything."

"Renji! Please... This is important to Rukia... If you truly cared for her then you would comply... I can't believe it, after all this time you've become a jerk."

Renji just stared out the window. "Fine then..."

Momo sighed in relief. She didn't think the conversation was going to turn out this way. "Thank goodness..." she said before walked away and going back to her chair.

She looked to her left and found Rukia in a heated staring contest with Ichigo. It was more than enough to maker Momo smile. Rukia noticed her and asked what happened to Renji. Momo replied by saying that it was all taken care of and the Rukia needn't worry.

* * *

><p>"You look out of sorts."<p>

Momo sighed as she looked back from the couch she was sitting on and doing her homework on. She gave him a soft smile. "Ever heard of no trespassing?"

"Ever heard of being a good neighbor? Your parents love having me over since their daughter works too hard to help her best friend's love life to have a love life of her own."

Momo chuckled as she resumed doing her homework. "Get out of here Toshiro."

He smirked as absentmindedly tousled his white spiky hair. He didn't go to their school but rather, went to a private all boys school. He had been Momo's neighbor for as long as she could remember and he was still experiencing his growth spurt. She used to make fun of him because he was so short when they were kids but now he towered two inches more than her and continued to grow.

He was rather handsome though, not like she would ever admit that to him. "Homework? Need help?"

"No thanks..."

"Two hours later, you'll come running to my house next door begging me to teach you like you do ever other day." Hitsugaya Toshiro sighed as he sat next to her and snatched her notebook from her.

"Okay fine... You're the genius." Momo said sarcastically.

"Hmm... English?"

"Yeah... I just have some issues with active and passive voice... We're Japanese, why study English?"

He laughed. "For the idiot foreigners who don't try to at least learn an inch of Japanese... You translated this sentence wrong... It's supposed to be changed from active to passive. The original sentence is The boy made a birthday card for his brother. In passive voice it becomes The birthday card was made by the boy for his brother. See the difference?" he asked.

"Just a bit... I'm still confused."

He moved closer to her in order to teach her better. "You see in active voice, it's always like this: The man baked, The woman played, The child kicked. With passive voice, it become like this: The cake was baked by the man, The piano was played by the woman, The ball was kicked by the child."

"We don't get much active and passive in Japanese." Momo commented.

"True.. So translate this sentence into it's active voice. The violin was played by the maestro for the concert."

"Hmm... The maestro played the violin for the concert?"

"Correct... It's just like that... See, it's not so hard."

"Says the genius... I'm not as smart as you Toshiro." she sighed as she leaned back on the couch and stared up at the ceiling.

He showed a worried face as his face hovered above hers. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Just stressed... Rukia is finally falling in love but Renji's being the green eyed monster." Momo sighed.

She closed her eyes and was shocked when she felt his hands on her shoulders. Her eyes shot open before they relaxed when she realized he was merely giving her a back rub. "Let me help you out." he said softly.

She nodded as she closed her eyes again. He was pretty good at it, it was relaxing. Very relaxing as a matter of fact. They stayed like that for another five minutes before Momo's parents came in.

"Oh, Hi Toshiro... We didn't hear you come in." her mom greeted warmly.

He smiled at her as he withdrew his hands from Momo swiftly. "I figured I'd just let myself in since Momo's just gonna come running later anyway." he replied.

"Oh? I guess that's true. Care to join us for dinner Toshiro?" her mom offered.

He shrugged and smiled. "It's fine, I don't want to impose Mrs. Hinamori."

"Oh, such nonsense... We've known you for ages, you're like family already. Come on now, don't be shy. Isn't that right dear?"

Her father just shrugged. "Do what you want." he stated simply as he went back upstairs.

Momo's mom excitedly went to the kitchen leaving the two alone. Brown eyes met green ones before they bursted into laughter. "Congratulations, you're now my mom's first option for that dance in our senior year."

"Well you've been on my mom's list since were were nine."

"So, is that a yes?"

He smirked. "That's a yes."

The two old friends laughed some more.

"Just so you know, it's a backup thing."

Toshiro laughed. "Agreed, it's a backup thing."

"You're school's putting you guys to the test huh? You have to scavenge for girls. Must suck being an all boys school." Momo said jokingly as she stood up and walked over to the handsome boy. "I wonder how you'd ask other girls to the dance, I'd bet you'd look so cute." she joked.

He flushed red. "Oh shut up Momo."

Then he managed to grin and placed his hand on her head. He was showing off his new found height again and that normally served to piss Momo off. He was 4'5 before, now he was 5'2 and he continued to grow. Stupid men and their growth spurts. "How are you gonna find a date?"

"Please, I've got a line, I'll just have to pick on from it." Momo said smugly.

"I'm sure that line consists of only three people." he retorted.

"Hey! I have admirers too! But now that I think about it, you have them too. Male admirers that is." she grinned deviously.

He grew incredibly mad. "I'm not gay!"

"Oh? If you're not gay then surely there must be some girl you find pretty out there."

He took a step forward and looked at her with much intensity. "I do find a girl pretty." he said with much conviction.

"And who is this girl?"

He was about to answer when Momo's mom came bursting in the living room and telling them that dinner was ready. Toshiro sighed as he headed over to the table leaving Molo hanging. They all had dinner and seeing as though Momo's mom loved having Toshiro over, she did her best to hook him up with her daughter. Naturally, Momo was embarrassed by this while her father merely shook his head.

Once dinner was over, Momo's mom forced her to accompany Toshiro home despite him being three houses away. They exited and the two walked in silence. "So who's this girl you like?"

Why did that sound like she was jealous. She had no reason to be jealous.

He didn't answer.

They reached the gate to his house and before he left her walked over to her side and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I think you're beautiful Momo, give yourself a break from helping Fubuki out and help yourself too."

Momo blushed at what he said. "Are you going to watch my play?"

He smirked. "Wouldn't miss the chance to see you mess up on stage."

Then he left.

Momo stared at the gate dumbfounded.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Anyhoo, it was a short chapter and I will try to make up for it, I don't have much time so this is a quick post...<strong>

**I know there are tons of autocorrct errors and typos here, I'll fix it on my weekend...**

**AkaBaka-han signing off~**


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH**

* * *

><p>Momo stood at the podium where the teacher's desk was. Her face was sullen and grim, it was unlike her. The class quieted down as soon as they saw that their most happy-go-lucky member was serious. She was also the treasurer of the student council, how she balanced council activities and club activities was nothing short of a miracle. She pulled back a stray strand of hair and began to speak with a dry voice.<p>

"You all know how we had a student council meeting yesterday right?"

The class didn't answer and so Momo took their silence as a yes.

"Well... After giving our play further consideration, they said that it was too complicated and mature for little children. They're telling us to change it... I know we're already practicing half of act 1 but we need to... While it's still early. Our play has three acts so we have time to change it, we've barely begun with the costumes so we can alter those..."

"Any suggestions?" Momo asked as she pressed her hands against the glass on the table and leaned forward.

"How do we change it?" once classmate said.

"How about we revert it to Cinderella?" a guy proposed.

"No, class 2-D is already doing that. We need a different play." his friend rebutted him.

"How about sleeping beauty?" Ishida Uryu suggested.

"Nah, already happened last year." Renji replied casually as he sighed fitfully.

"Umm... Momo?"

Momo crossed her arms and raised a brow. This ought to be interesting. "Yes Rukia?"

"How about Beauty and the Beast? It's never been done before since no one wants to do the role of Beast." Rukia said with such a cute expression on her face.

"That would be nice Rukia but like you said, who wants to be Beast?"

"I would... I think it's great."

Rukia looked back and the whole class followed suit. A certain handsome orange headed boy was smiling a smile that was closer to a smirk. His hand was raised to indicate that he was the one who offered to do the role. Beauty and the Beast was Rukia's favorite Disney movie among all of them and Ichigo knew that. Was he supporting her?

Rukia's lips curved into a smile. Ichigo saw this and his smile had changed into a genuine warm one. As soon as Rukia witnessed the change, she blushed slightly and mouthed a few words of gratitude to him before facing forward. Ichigo laughed through his nose as he rested his head on his propped up palm handsomely.

The class burst into noise as they began to discuss how exciting it would be to do Beauty and the Beast. The script people began talking about how to do the script. The costume people were discussing on how to make their dresses more french as well as how to do Beast's costume. The people in charge of casting began to put the appropriate people for the role. The props masters were thinking of repainting certain props for a more french vibe. The sound people began discussing on where to find the instrumental versions of the songs played in the Disney movie.

The class was full of life and Rukia's childhood movie was coming to life thanks to Ichigo. This truly gave her a sense of nostalgia as though her sister Hisana was still alive.

Minutes later, the casting crew came with a revised paper and Momo read it with a smile.

"For the role of Belle, we have Rukia. Kurosaki-kun is Beast and Renji's Gaston. That's the major roles... I'll post this paper up on the bulletin board later, you guys okay with that?

They all nodded.

Then Momo grinned deviously. "Oh and Rukia? Looks like you're kissing him after all."

Rukia flushed red. "W-wait! Can't we omit that section?"

They needed to take that kissing scene out... Knowing Ichigo, he could go overboard and kiss the ever loving daylights out of her on stage. Maybe he would kiss her senseless as soon as the lights went off and as soon as they turn it on again, everyone would see that they were making out on stage. Tongue included.

Rukia's head was spinning at the 90% probability and she desperately hoped for the 10% to come true.

"We can't... And besides, a kiss is no big deal. You've done it before, what are you so ashamed about?" Momo said casually but a smile was still plastered on her face.

"What!" the class yelled in perfect synchronization.

The boys made an angry buzz and Renji joined them for once. He was extremely mad like the rest of the males while the girls began interrogating her.

"With who!"

"Uhh... It's a secret."

"Is he handsome! Do we know him!"

"Y-yes and yes?"

"How was your first kiss?"

"P-pleasant..."

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Uhh... Y-yeah..."

"Did you French kiss!"

Rukia flushed red. The words just kept coming out of her mouth. "W-we did..."

They squealed.

"Oh my God! Are you dating! Is he your boyfriend!"

"N-no he's not..."

"How many times have you kissed!"

"More than ten... I think..."

"Are you a virgin!"

"Ehhhhh!"

Ichigo clutched the edges of the table hard and held his stomach in so he wouldn't laugh. This was way too hilarious. She thought he was handsome and contrary to what he initially thought, she did like her first kiss and she admitted that she was a good kisser. Momo stifled a laugh on the other hand.

"She is. Now come on, let's not scare the poor girl. She's already as red as she can get." Momo said with an evident smirk on her face.

Rukia was silent as Ichigo poked her from behind and got her to look at him. He moved forwards and whispered. "Hey... Wanna eat lunch with me at the rooftop? They're planning on badgering you until you say my name." he said sincerely at the start but the end had a smug tone.

Rukia ended up smiling anyway. "I'd like that... Sure..."

Momo smiled at the scene and returned to her seat before whispering a few words to Renji to keep him in check.

* * *

><p>Ichigo playfully stole Rukia's tamagoyaki earning him a cold and harsh glare. He simply shrugged it off and that pissed her off. Rukia gritted her teeth and stole his Beef Teppanyaki. He had no right to steal food from her when she made his lunch everyday. Damn rich bastard.<p>

Ichigo ate it off her chopsticks before she could stick it in her mouth. Rukia was so ready to break her chopsticks. Ichigo stole another tamagoyaki.

"If you want it back then why don't you eat it before I take it." he provoked her.

Rukia took the bait and just as he was about to eat it, he took the chopsticks with the tamagoyaki away from his mouth so that Rukia would end up kissing him. Playing games with her was so much fun.

What took Ichigo by surprise was that she didn't pull back. Her eyes were closed now and he was beginning to close his eyes as well. The two involuntarily dropped their bento boxes to the ground as Ichigo's hand found it's way to the small of her back. Rukia's right hand gripped his hair as she angled her head to deepen the kiss. Ichigo probed for entrance and she let it in without much hesitation. The two fought for dominance and Rukia managed to pick up a few tricks from Ichigo himself. Her heart swelled as their tongues connected, it felt to heartfelt having him kiss her as though he truly cared for her more than a friend.

It was only now that Ichigo broke the kiss. Rukia's eyes were looking at his eyes with such confusion. It was a bunch of jumbled emotions, there was so much confusion and he could see she didn't understand them. Heck, he didn't understand himself when he kissed her. He never kissed girls the way he kissed Rukia. The feeling in his chest was enveloping his whole being but he still didn't understand what he was feeling.

Then he asked himself: What do I feel for Rukia?

What if she likes me? Am I leading her on?

But then he pushed that possibility far away. There was no way Rukia would ever like a guy like him. She was too good for him, she deserved better than a piece of shit like him.

All he knew was that any man was lucky to have Rukia's affection.

She's beautiful, smart and strong.

No one could compare to the natural elegance and sophostication she had. She was born with such refinement. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind and she would do so in such a straightforward manner. She was a bad liar and she had such a gorgeous voice. Her guitar skills made her shine all the more.

She was perfect.

There was so much more to her than meets the eye. Why was she born into poverty, a girl like her deserved his money and a family.

Ichigo swallowed thickly as he pulled her close to his chest without thinking. "Let's stay like this for a while..." he said.

"Okay..." was all she replied as she rested her head against his lean chest. She could hear his steady breathing and she could hear his strong heartbeat pulsating inside his chest. He was truly warm, she felt comfortable in his arms.

Was she truly in love with him like Momo said? Ever since Momo brought the idea up, Rukia constantly asked herself if she was in love with him. She couldn't tell. She didn't know what it was like to be in love before.

"Hey Ichigo..."

"Yeah?"

"What would you do if I was in love with you?"

Ichigo was taken aback by this question and gave himself some time to think of an answer.

"If you were in love with me... I would kiss you and ask you out... Then I'd date you until I fall in love with you myself." he replied sweetly.

The feeling in her chest grew larger and larger but Rukia suppressed it.

"Is that so?"

"It is so..."

"Why did you answer such a thing Ichigo?"

He thought for a while. "We're friends aren't we? You're the only person I've been this close to aside from my family... I've told you my secrets and I've confided in you... I... I trust you."

Rukia's heart stopped beating the moment he said those three words.

I Trust You.

Her breathing fell short and her heart began to pound profusely. She had never felt like this before.

"I trust you too..." she replied.

Then they both silently thought about what would they feel or what would it sound like should they exchange the word trust with love.

Those three words filled with so much meaning.

Would they ever say that to each other?

Or would they stay good friends?

They enjoyed being in each other's company in the silence.

* * *

><p>Renji felt like someone had just ripped his heart right out of his chest. He knew something was up when they went to the rooftop and he was right again. Momo was right, she really was falling in love with him and he couldn't do a fucking thing about it. He had been in love with Rukia for so long only to have her stolen away before he could confess. Based on the way Ichigo looked at her, Renji was sure he wasn't playing her. They were both in love and were in the stage of denial.<p>

He needed to accept that he wasn't the one for Rukia.

How could he?

It was tearing him apart just to watch them. He was so desperate, looking for proof that it was only purely physical and nothing special was going on with them. It was a well told lie because he managed to get himself to believe his own lie. He blinded himself because he refused to acknowledge the truth.

Now he would have to watch them everyday, giving each other discrete looks when no one was watching. He didn't need to follow them just to see them kiss or be a bit intimate. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Renji went down the stairs as though he were dragging his feet. He finally heard the familiar sound of students chatting and talking in the corridor. He couldn't see where he was going and he didn't even know where he wanted to go. He went to the stairs and before he even knew it, someone was holding hik from behind. Their arms were hooked under his arms and when he looked down, he nearly fell off the stairs. He was pulled back and turned around.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing Abarai! Are you crazy? Do you think you can get away with a suicide or a few broken limbs in my territory! You must be joking! I can't let a member of the student body get hurt, who do you think would get in trouble! I would because I'm the president!" she yelled at him like crazy. Her short black hair moved as she spoke.

"K-Kaichou..."

"Idiot, I told you to call me Tatsuki."

He shook his head softly. "It's more comfortable to me to call you Kaichou. No... Taichou is more appropriate..."

She grew angrier. "Oh shut up, just because I'm good at Kendo and Karate doesn't mean I get that stupid nickname."

"They gave you that because you were like a demon instructor." he replied. Finally, smirk surfaced on his handsome face.

She placed her hands on her waist. "Bunch of sissies, the lot of them. Can't handle a little pain, well you were an exception." she chuckled.

"Though seriously... Thanks for rescuing me."

"You make me sound like I just rescued a damsel in distress." she scowled.

He frowned. "Damsel in distress?"

She shook her head as she pulled him back to the corridor and away from the stairs. "Though seriously, it's not like you to space out like that Abarai. Is something wrong?"

"Nah... Why? Are you worried about me?" he teased as he bend down and flicked her head jokingly. "Does Kaichou have a crush on little ol' me?"

She flushed red. "Who in the right mind would have a crush on you! Number one, you're just ugly. You're too tall and two large in build. I know you're not on steroids but you're... Huge. Those tattoos are a turn off and you're red hair does nothing for you."

He laughed. "Of course... Falling in love like a giddy school girl isn't like you."

She cursed under her breath. "Wanna talk about it?"

He smiled softly. "Rukia's being stolen away from me... Though it's not like I had her to begin with... I've been in denial but it's only now I've accepted that fact but... It's hard." he said bitterly.

Tatsuki bit her lip as she looked at his form. He was slouching and his head was down. She sighed and spoke. "Want to spar?" she asked.

"Arisawa... This is no tim-"

"Abarai! You need the practice or are those biceps and abs of yours just for show? Come by anytime..." she offered a before walking off.

Renji just stared at her walking away.

Is she trying to console me?

* * *

><p>"That was awfully quick of you... I didn't think you'd swing by the dojo so soon..."<p>

Renji sighed as he grabbed one of the wooden Kendo sticks. He went to the center and assumed a stance without any armor. Tatsuki followed suit but she had to ask. "No armor Abarai?"

"You're not wearing any and you know how I don't mind beating a girl like you up."

She smirked. "Two sets, best two out of three. Set one is Kendo and Set two is Karate. Full points counts as one point in the best two out of three. Got it Abarai?"

His face turned serious. "Then let's get started. I hope I haven't lost my edge from when I was a member of your club."

They sat in total silence. Whenever they sparred. They never followed the conventional rules. Renji made the first strike with one forward blow. Tatsuki blocked it and pushed him back as she stood up from her kneeling stance. Tatsuki made a diagonal slash and Renji blocked it with ease and pushed her back giving himself an opening. He trusted forwards only have Tatsuki recover and redirect the blow.

"Screw Kendo, give me your best shot Renji!" she said confidently.

"Is that something the respectable Kaichou should say!" he replied with a grin as he abandoned his formal stance and went with something he was more comfortable with.

Renji parried a strike from Tatsuki and surged forward. He dodged one strike and spun around to land a hit on her backside. Tatsuki swung her weapon backwards to parry but having your backside to your opponent was an obvious disadvantage. Renji quickly made a swing to the side and Tatsuki was unable to dodge it.

Tatsuki glared at him. "Lucky shot Abarai..."

"Don't tell me the second strongest girl in Japan's getting weak?"

"Correction, it's the strongest girl in Japan now or did that fuzzy headed brain of yours forget that I won that tournament last month?" Tatsuki growled at him as they assumed another starting stance.

In their game, a full set of points was three.

"Ready Arisawa?"

"Keep barking Abarai."

—

Rukia got fed up of waiting and stood up from the couch and gave up on trying to do a Bach fugue on the acoustic guitar. Momo just shook her head while Ichigo was absentmindedly doing the right hand of Schubert's Ave Maria.

"Where the hell is Renji! He knows we've got practice... He can't go slacking off!"

Ichigo laughed as he played Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata for comedic effect. "Rukia, that's what you're feeling right now."

"Shut up you ass." she retorted rather quickly.

Momo laughed. "I feel honored, the great Kurosaki Ichigo is playing the piano in my presence." she commented.

"Know that it's not for you Hinamori."

"It's for Rukia, I know." Momo replied as she walked over to Ichigo and pressed a random key totally ruining the serenity of the Moonlight Sonata.

He glared at her. "Hey Hinamori-"

"It's Momo... A friend of Rukia's is a friend of mine. And besides, Hinamori can be a mouthful sometimes." Momo said with a smile.

"Are you two purposely ignoring me?"

"Yes." the two said simultaneously as they looked back to Rukia together.

"Since when did you two start conspiring behind my back?" Rukia said agitatedly.

"Starting now, right Ichigo-kun?"

Ichigo laughed. "You got that right Momo."

Rukua rolled her eyes. Great, she already had Momo, she didn't need another friend to torture her. Since when was she condemned to such cruelty. The three of them faced the door the moment the door opened revealing a certain sensei. They stayed silent and Rukia remembered once more that rainy afternoon with this man.

"Good afternoon... Where's Renji?" he asked casually like the teacher he was.

"Renji's not here." Rukia replies quite hostilely.

"I see."

"Do you need him sir?" Ichigo asked politely.

He shook his head. "It's odd for him to miss out on practice." he stated.

Rukia swallowed thickly. "Is it possible for you to loan us a guitar... An electric guitar?"

He nodded. "I can get it done by tomorrow." he replied.

What an awkward conversation.

What made it all the more always was having their student council president coming in the music room in her Karate Gi carrying a lump with red hair otherwise known as Renji. He carried a few bruises and moaned like a child who had tripped for the first time.

"K-Kaichou... What did you do to him?" Rukia asked horrified.

"This puppy over her was walking around depressed, almost fell down the stairs til' I caught him and all. Told him that if sparring would make him any better, he should stop by so he did. This idiot's only good at Kendo, he got a lucky shot so I got a tad but pissed. I massacred him to a bruised pup. This guy here bruised like a peach... Then again, it was his fault for not wearing any armor to begin with. He got mad when I beat him in Kendo so he randomly swung at me in Karate. Though naturally I just threw him to the nearest wall... Long story short, I beat him up."

Momo burst into laughter. "It's a legal spar... It's practice and all so it's allowed!"

Tatsuki tossed him forward towards Rukia and Momo. "Sorry to keep you from practice."

Ichigo stood up and walked to Renji and took a glance before facing Tatsuki. "Sp you're the president?"

She nodded and gave her hand for formality purposes. "Arisawa Tatsuki, student council president."

He took her hand and shook it. "Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Nice to finally meet you, you're rather popular you know though some rumors have been spreading that you and Fubuki-san are dating... Is this true?"

Ichigo shook his head charmingly. "Sadly." was all he replied.

"You really do have orange hair... I don't get to see you much."

"That's because you're either cramped up in the student council room or you're in the dojo. You have no social life Tatsuki-chan..." Momo sighed.

"Shut up Momo... Well, here's Abarai. If you need anything else just swing by the student council room."

Tatsuki left in an air of formality.

Rukia crouched down and gave him a smile. "You look really beat up... You're getting a black eye Renji." she mocked.

"Shut up... Arisawa's a monster."

Rukia laughed as she extended her hand. Renji took it and he managed to stand up after stumbling for a bit. His drumsticks were somewhere on the couch and he got it. He sat behind the drums. "Sorry for the delay."

Rukia took her Gibson while Ichigo and Momo followed suit.

"By the way Fubuki... I heard Ten no Hoshi from a friend of mine." Kuchiki-sensei said.

Rukia faced his direction. She nearly forgot he was in the room. "Who?"

"He's passed away in a car accident."

"Do you have a name?"

"He wouldn't tell me his name... I only know him because I saw him perform on the street numerous times. He went by the stage name Senbonzakura." he replied before excusing himself and leaving them to their own devices.

Momo stepped forward and placed a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Looks like we got the wrong guy Rukia... And the reason why he wasn't around was because he got caught in an accident and died."

Rukia nodded in disappointment. "Yeah... Ah well, I've been living fine on my own. So, let's practice?"

Renji gave the starting signal and practice begun.

* * *

><p>"Just a little more Rukia... Be a little patient and... I'll be able to fulfill my promise to Hisana." he muttered under his breath as he pressed his back against the music room door.<p>

This room carried a lot of memories for them. Back then, he was sent to a school like this to learn how to live among the common people and Hisana studied here for the same reason why Rukia was studying here. He taught her how to play the guitar and he gave her a Gibson Les Paul. He ended up falling in love with her and dating her until the say she died.

Though they were dating in secret.

If his grandfather found out about him dating one of a lower social class, he would never see Hisana again.

He sighed as he headed towards the rooftop. He took out a cigarette and lit it as soon as he got up.

Hisana did say that his habit of smoking was the only thing that made him seem like the rest of humanity. Though she did scold him for smoking too much, so only did it occasionally.

"Kuchiki Rukia... It does have a nice ring to it doesn't it Hisana?"

He then brought up his hand to look at this simple band of silver on his ring finger.

"So does Kuchiki Hisana... It has a nice ring to it too... It may have been for a short while but... Those days were my happiest."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So here I am with a new chapter after a while, I'm sorry for the delay... took me a while to write some things. Well, I was in my christmas-new year hibernation mode. I have no excuses for being a lazy ass...<strong>

**I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as possible.**

**I am honestly flattered by your reviews and Song For You has been breaking records among my fanfiction... 90 reviews in 11 chapters... damn. Thank you guys soo much and please keep supporting Song For You because I have no intention of dropping this story.**

**A belated Happy New Year my dearies~**

**AkaBaka-chan signing off!**


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLEACH IN ANY WAY**

* * *

><p>Rukia and Ichigo had finally gotten through with the final scene of Beauty and the Beast without getting the serious urge to kiss each other. Momo was keeping them in check because it was so obvious to Momo that they thought of each other as more than just friends, these too were just plain dense about it. Though Momo couldn't really have them accidentally go out on a real make out session on stage or Rukia's good reputation would change drastically.<p>

It just made it bad because the class kept demanding a kissing scene whenever they practiced that particular scene though naturally, Ichigo and Rukia ignored the demands and pretended to be ignorant. Kind of ironic seeing as though it was these two people who have make out sessions on the rooftop during illegal school hours and sometimes legal.

Those were not intentional though, the chemistry was just sometimes way too strong that they couldn't help but be drawn to each other.

"Kurosaki-san! Kiss her!" one girl demanded and was instantly joined by other classmates.

Ichigo inwardly rolled his eyes and faced Rukia. Rukia shook her head and sighed softly as she watched her overly eager classmates by the seats down the auditorium's audience area. Technically speaking, Ichigo was still lying down on her lap on stage. They scene wasn't exactly done.

Momo was filing in for the sick director that day and she had a sickeningly evil grin plastered on her face. Rukia had a bad feeling about this. "Go on Rukia, one kiss won't hurt. Just indulge them for today."

Rukia sighed fitfully as she gave him a weak smile. "Keep it brief." she mouthed to him voicelessly.

He closed his eyes and nodded. He reached out and touched her cheek softly. He slowly slid the back of his hand against his cheek to feel how soft it was before cupping her cheek properly and bringing her down. Her eyes fluttered to a close and he followed suit. Their noses touched but the only reason why their cheeks were so flushed was because they were doing this in front of public eyes.

Their lips touched again and they did their best not to linger and they made sure to do a simple kiss so their classmates wouldn't get any ideas. They separated quickly and Rukia had to say her line instead of thinking about how nice that felt.

"I love you... Beast..." she said soft gentle manner but her voice was audible enough.

When she said it, his heart stopped for a moment because it felt like it was directed towards him. He snapped out of his small trance and smiled charmingly. "And I you... Belle."

Rukia had to pretend to cry though she looked convincing enough but from where Ichigo was looking, her lap to be precise, he saw her at the brink of laughing. She was smiling behind her hands. Ichigo got up and hugged her tightly.

"Marry me Belle... Be my queen, live in my castle."

"Yes... I will... I'll be your Queen my prince." she replied.

"And cut!" Momo yelled contentedly.

The class applauded and a lot cheered for the scene. They honestly didn't think they would make it since this was a last minute change but they did. They only had two more days before the actually festival so they had two more days for full dress rehearsals. As for the nameless band, they managed to get their senpai to come for the piano so they were all set.

Everything was perfect.

Ichigo sighed and crossed his arms. "Their demands are getting more and more unreasonable as the days go by." he commented dryly, he was sure no one other than Rukia heard it.

Rukia didn't look him in the eye, she was out of her character already so it was only now that she felt the embarrassment.

Ichigo's probably used to kissing girls back in Germany, she though bitterly.

Bitter? Since when was she bitter? Who gives a flying fuck if he's kissing other girls. It's his personality to be a playboy. Him kissing her is... a complicated matter.

"No kidding."

Momo was right, Rukia thought.

What was her relationship with Ichigo? Were they friends? In mutual understanding? Borderline relationship? What were they in all honesty? What did he think of her but more importantly, what did she think of him? Ever since they had that fight, the days were so blissful in his company. Being with him felt right and she felt happy just being by his side. Love? Was it truly love? She still couldn't tell.

"If we win best class this year, Karakura King and Queen award is as good as ours!" one classmate exclaimed.

"Our play's looking great! Of course we'll win!" one guy added enthusiastically.

"So the Karakura King and Queen award should go to Kurosaki and Fubuki-san huh..." Uryu commented dryly from the sidelines.

Ichigo raised an eyebrow as he stood up and helped Rukia up as well. "Is that like Prom King and Queen or something?"

"Yeah... People vote on the most popular guy and girl and most of the time, the King and Queen become a couple though it never lasts until senior year..." Rukia replied.

"I see..." he replied.

"Hey Momo, what's this years lucky draw event?" Rukia asked Momo from the stage.

Momo grinned as she stepped down the auditorium stairs and walked up the stage. Might as well announce it to the whole class right? "This year's Lucky Draw Event is called A Kiss From My Prince, A Kiss From My Princess!"

The class was now a large uproar and Momo gave them a while before settling them down. "The mechanics are the same. All students need to participate and their names will be drawn by random. The prize is a kiss from the King and Queen and whomever they are, they draw the lots themselves so at the bonfire stage area, the results are announced. Simple as that."

"What kind of kiss?" Ichigo asked.

Momo shrugged. "It depends on the King and Queen."

Ichigo had a weird thought then. He wanted to be King and he wanted draw Rukia's name from the box.

Ichigo shook his head and continued to smile his innocent smile. After much talking, the class finally finished their discussion and decided to go for their lunch break. Only the music club members stayed behind. Momo hauled Renji's drum set in along with Renji himself and helped Renji set up while Rukia and Ichigo worked with the amps. Tatsuki was supervising from the back of the auditorium since the music club asked for special permission to practice in the auditorium.

"Rukia, won't you take that dress off?" Momo asked.

Rukia shook her head. "It's a hassle since we still have another dress rehearsal later." Rukia replied as she checked if her guitar was in tune.

"Nanao-senpai's running late..." Renji commented dryly as he checked if his bass and snare drums were still good before checking the cymbals.

"No I'm not."

All of them looked towards the entrance to the auditorium where a woman with black hair stood. She had black hair which was tied up in a prim and proper way by a clasp and she had glasses that made her look sharp. She had been wearing a dress as well as warm looking camisole and some comfy looking boots. She gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry I'm late, I had a test."

As soon as she got to the stage, the first thing she was greeted by was Momo and Rukia hugging her waist.

"Nanao-senpai!" they yelled happily.

Nanao sighed but smiled anyway as she patted their heads. She looked around and found Tatsuki watching them while Renji was merely grinning. Then she saw some strange boy with orange hair holding a guitar. She let the two girls go and smiled.

"Oh Rukia... I think you got a little taller... And you're chest got bigger."

Rukia flushed red when her senpai mentioned her chest. "S-senpai! Not in front of Ichigo and Renji!"

"Ichigo...?" Nanao repeated after Rukia and pointed towards Ichigo. "Him?"

Momo grinned and nodded as she dragged Ichigo to Nanao for an introduction. "So Senpai... This is Kurosaki Ichigo, he plays the guitar and he's Rukia's boyfriend!"

"What!? B-boyfriend!? Since when?" Rukia yelled bashfully.

"Boyfriend..? Oh hoh, Rukia's growing up..." Nanao went along with Momo for old times sake.

Rukia pointed towards him angrily. "Who in the right kind would date this orange headed freak of nature!?"

Ichigo popped a vein and snapped at her instantly. "Says the midget."

Rukia's eyebrows furrowed downward and she gritted her teeth. That nickname was a forbidden word around her and Renji never dared to say it so he never experienced Rukia's wrath. "Midget? Get real you perverted bastard..."

"Wow... Perverted bastard, is that all you've got... Airport runway...?"

Rukia flushed red and tried to punch him in the stomach but with an impressive abdomen like his, that was futile. "H-how dare you call me an airport runway!"

He grinned. "Oh? So you do care about your chest... I was beginning to think you were a prude..."

"You are such an ass Kurosaki..." she seethed as her blood was literally boiling.

Momo sighed and pushed the two away from each other. Rukia looked so feral and ready to pounce on him and beat him until he was bleeding. "Anyway... Ichigo, this is Ise Nanao, she's our senpai and former president of the music club. She plays the piano..."

Nanao smiled and extended her hand out of cordiality. "Pleasure to meet you Kurosaki-kun."

He took it and shook her hand.

Nanao walked to the keyboard and pressed a few keys. She sat down and adjusted the settings a bit before speaking. "Let's get started then so you guys can eat some lunch. I'm looking forward to hearing you play Kurosaki-kun."

Renji gave the starting mark. They already gave the setlist to Nanao so she knew what songs came first and she practiced them on her own. The first song they needed the piano for was glow and the guitar was minimal so it was just an opportunity for both Ichigo and Rukia to sing. When Nanao first heard Rukia sing, she realized just how much Rukia had improved since she graduated.

Nanao was somewhat shocked to hear Ichigo sing, his singing was just as callouses as his fingers but there was something nice and heartfelt about his voice that made it beautiful. Then she heard them harmonize and they sounded great together. It was as if they were meant to sing together. It was simply an exquisite thing to hear.

Still though, such chemistry.

Nanao fought a snicker when Ichigo accidentally hit the wrong note sending Rukia to a barrage of cuss words and a very long Rukia-like lecture. Though after a couple of more minutes, they changed songs. They had decided to change Koishikute into CHANCE! because it would bring Ichigo's playful side into play and he seemed more comfortable singing that particular song.

Renji started it with the upbeat drums of the song and Ichigo began to sing.

"It's chance chance chance. Let's begin. Trance somebody

with this. One wish.

Makin'sound with beats. Shakin'Dancin'UVERworld.

Start! Just keep! Last wa rakushou de PIISU

Peace! Attack! Everybody!

Rock time! Big show time!"

That's when the piano kicker it with the rest of the instruments.

"Sono ki ni nattemo itsumo uragiru toki dakedo

Nagedasu kimochi Stop! muki au kimi Respect!

Tsuyoku negau kimochi wa todoku kara"

"Toki wa Precious!

Donna toki mo aisuru hito no tame ni kagayaite itakute

Sou Nice your smile keep!

Sou itsuka Get chance!

Kimi no kokoro no koe ni kotaete agetakute"

"Kanau hazu nai ano hi no yume ga

Imada ni mune no naka matataku kara

Itsudatte toki wa saisho made modoreru

Akirame naide

Oikake tsudukete itai yo"

Everything ended smoothly into an explosion of music. They were on a roll and they synchronized perfectly. Everyone didn't miss a beat, it was perfect. Perfect everything really, it felt great. Addictive in its own right. Tatsuki applauded them despite chewing on some Melon Bread.

They smiled as they looked at each other.

"Okay guys, from here on out, I won't be playing the piano so I'll be watching." Nanao said just as she turned the keyboard off and exited the stage. She joined Tatsuki and grabbed her own lunch from her bag.

Rukia nodded. This was they chance to show just how much they had improved.

Renji started it of with a drumbeat before the bass and the guitars kicked in. Rukia began with the opening riff while Ichigo backed her up. He wasn't as good as Rukia so keeping up with her fingers was quite a challenge even if he wasn't doing the riff himself. Then Rukia began to sing, that was when it became something amazing.

"Saki made to iteru koto chigau janai.

Chotto dake sugao misete keredo.

Zutto ira ira ira ira shite wa atashi mou.

Mono mitai ni atsugate.

Saki made to iteru koto chigau janai."

"Dareka no sei no shite wa himega kureshiteru hibi aterinaranai wa.

I'm sorry toriaezu Sayonara."

"Anata gainai toriai iya teieru wagamama.

Aijou yujou shiritai koto wa nandemo.

Itsuka kokoro no oku no doa teteku.

Anata wo mateiru."

Then the guitar riff again and then the song ended. This time, two people were applauding.

"I haven't heard you guys in a while. You are good." Tatsuki complimented.

"You sure have improved though Rukia."

Rukia grinned from ear to ear due to the praises coming from her senpai. Ichigo was a bit surprised by Rukia's smile, he wasn't sure if she had ever smiled like that too him. She looked like a child being praised by her mother, it was such a cute expression on her face. Ichigo just smiled from the sidelines and that was when he felt a certain Bass poking him. Ichigo narrowed his eyes at the woman who was grinning madly.

"That's a pleasant smile you've got there I-chi-go-kun."

He rolled his eyes and scowled instantly. "Who says I'm smiling?" he shot back instantly.

"Please, it's so radiant that if I sat at the back of the auditorium I could see it shining there as plain as day." Momo retorted with that triumphant grin on her face, it had yet to go away.

"Can't we go back to practice already?" Ichigo whined.

"Don't you want to see Rukia like this?"

Ichigo flushed red and looked away. He gritted his teeth. "Hey Rukia, can we get on with the next song? We still have Listen to One Story and Sayonara my Friend to practice before our class rehearsal!"

Rukia quickly turned around and frowned at him. She does look a bit attractive when she's mad but now was no time to be a slave to Fubuki Rukia's good looks. No wait, she's not good looking or pretty at all.

I've seen prettier women back in Germany.

Right... Germany.

I want to go home... Right?

But... Whenever I think about going back there, all those women don't appeal to me anymore.

Her face softened up. "Right, we still have a class play to do. Let's pick up the pace then. We do Listen to One Story next."

Ichigo smiled contentedly and began test his guitar for a bit. "Okay Rukia, start."

Rukia began to sing the opening lines as beautifully as ever. Her performances we're always entrancing, she always sang with a 180% effort. Her emotions were always conveyed to whomever was listening and the people would reciprocate her feelings by cheering her on. It was always like that. Her voice had even touched the cold recesses of his heart, Rukia's singing was enough to bring back old feelings he had abandoned long ago.

She had managed to revive his love for the piano, even for a little bit. The feelings were still there.

He closed his eyes as he allowed himself to be captured by the music.

The reason he abandoned the piano.

Her voice, her guitar made him forget the reason why.

Okaa-san... Maybe I can join another concour again... One of these days.

They ended the song successfully and this time Ichigo took of his electric guitar and switched it with Rukia's acoustic guitar. He fixed the strap and tested the strings before giving the okay sign. He began to play first few chords before Rukia sang.

Now that Ichigo thought about it, it always sounded like she was talking to someone whenever she sang. Whether she wrote the song herself or she was doing a cover, it was like she was having a conversation. It sounded personal, it felt comfortable. He smiled as he put more effort into strumming. Wait, he was also doing back up vocals so he put more effort in singing as well. Rukia seemed to have noticed his added effort because she was smiling as she sang.

The song came into a brilliant close leading to more applause. All four of them on stage felt a sense of achievement. Ichigo took off the guitar and set it down softly, he walked up to Rukia and ruffled her hair. "You seem happy midget."

She pushed his hand off and merely smirked. "Trying hard are we?" she replied.

He scoffed. "If I was trying, you'd know."

Rukia sighed as she took her guitar off. She began to teasingly slap at his stomach because it was the only part of his body she could reach but curse that abdomen, she wasn't sure if she was hitting a human person. "If you say so."

"Wow, I'd say you two really look like a couple. Why don't you hook up already?" Nanao said from the front row audience seats.

Ichigo coughed awkwardly and looked away while Rukia pretended to be barely fazed by her statement. "Maybe if I didn't hate him so much I would."

"Well too bad you hate me then but don't worry, the feeling is mutual." Ichigo smugly commented earning him a painful punch in the stomach.

"I don't understand how everything that comes out of your mouth is so hateful?"

"That's not everything that comes out of my mouth." he shot back but he didn't really notice the double meaning behind.

Rukia flushed red and this time landed a punch on his face. "B-bastard!"

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that!"

"You did!"

"Did not!"

"You did!"

"I. Did. Not. What do I need to do to get that through that stubborn head of yours Fubuki!?"

"Splendid, now you know how I feel on a daily basis Kurosaki!"

Momo was instantly between them, pushing the two apart. They were practically baring their teeth already but the proximity indicated that it was quite possible for them to kiss knowing them. The two refused to look at each other in a fit of stubbornness. Nanao stood up from her spot and got up the stage.

"You guys are pretty much good to go. I'll he here early tomorrow, I still want to watch you're class play. Rukia, your vocals and your guitar have improved tremendously. Momo, you're bass needs more practice, I bet you've been slacking off as usual. Kurosaki-kun, you're no Rukia but your guitar and vocals are pretty good. Though I can't help but feel you have pianists fingers... Maybe it's because I'm a pianist too, did you ever try the piano before?"

Ichigo swallowed thickly and shook his head. "Uhh... I've never even touched a key before."

Nanao adjusted her glasses in a scary way and dismissed his statement. She then faced Renji. "Renji, you're hitting the drums too hard. You went a bit off beat and you even missed a crash. What's wrong with you?"

Renji looked away, his bandana was lower than usual and there was some dangerous air around him. "Sorry... I'm gonna go eat lunch, see ya guys later." he said as he stood up, he stuffed his drum sticks in his back pocket and walked out of the auditorium.

"What's wrong with Renji?" Nanao asked.

Momo shrugged. "Who knows?" she lied through her teeth.

"By the way Momo..." Nanao said as she got something from her seat and went back on the stage again. "I saw this boy standing outside the gate looking for you. You left your lunchbox apparently so he came to deliver it."

Momo took her bento gratefully. "A boy?"

Nanao nodded. "Yeah, he's around this tall. Spiky white hair and green eyes. A general grumpy kid."

Momo laughed at the description. "That's Shiro-chan alright... He doesn't have school today, I almost forgot."

"Oh, Hitsugaya's still alive huh?" Rukia said nonchalantly.

Momo sent a glare towards Rukia. "What made you think he died?"

"Nothing, I just haven't heard from him in a while."

"That's because you two don't talk."

Rukia shrugged as she placed one hand on her hip. "Hey, I wasn't the one who broke my limited edition Hendrix pick."

"Yeah, he wasn't the one who broke his perfect grade Gundam 00 Raiser."

"Hey, he split it in half."

"That Gundam was smashed into pieces."

"Hey, at lease he could afford those Plastic Model Kits, I worked my ass off just so I could get that thing."

Momo sighed. "You two are the same. Except he's a bit more introverted. You both have explosive tempers and you're both short."

"I don't understand how you could stay friends with him."

Momo scoffed. "I ask myself that question everyday in regards to you Rukia."

Ichigo laughed as he grasped her head and tried to push Rukia down making her frown. "That is so true."

"Shove it Ichigo."

"Or what?" he taunted before leaning down until his mouth was by her ear. "Don't forget that I'm the one paying you my dear Maid."

Rukia tensed up and flushed red. She looked down and clenched her fist. "I don't need your opinion..."

Momo just laughed as she began to move the instruments off the stage so her class could rehearse. She set her Bass aside and the lovely couple just sighed and continued to do the same. Ichigo placed the keyboard back into its case while Momo and Rukia made a joint effort to stow the drums away. Ichigo assisted two girls later on.

"Arisawa-san..."

"Yes senpai?"

"How's my music club doing?"

Tatsuki closed her eyes before speaking. "Ever since that Kurosaki Ichigo came along, Fubuki has been much happier and livelier, she seems more alive. Their sound is more vibrant than last year, because of Kurosaki Ichigo. I don't know if Fubuki and Kurosaki have anything going on but there are rumors. It's funny really, they have a fan club together. Just recently, I had to reprimand some students because a faction of the fan club began to rebel and thus, have begun

to protest the couple."

"Sounds like fun."

"A bit tiring but it is fun."

Nanao smiled. "I've heard of his name before but I can't seem to remember where..."

"Kurosaki?"

"Yeah... It sounds awfully familiar to me and I can't help but think that his fingers aren't calloused enough to be the fingers of a guitarist. If you ask me, it looks like a pianist's hands."

"I don't know anything about music."

"Right, sorry Kaichou-san. I have to head back now, I have a class in twenty minutes." Nanao said as she stood up.

The club said their farewells to their senpai and she left the auditorium accordingly. The three remaining members merely sat on the stage and ate their lunches their, cracking jokes as they went.

* * *

><p>Rukia stretched her arms as she continued walking under the brilliant sunset. She felt better after stretching a bit more and continued to trudge on the familiar rode. Ichigo merely walked beside her, his bag had been slung over his shoulder in a laid-back manner. The proximity was enough for the back of their hands to brush against the other and it was fortunate that no other students were using this path to go home.<p>

Ichigo looked down at her, it's been a while since they began this little arrangement. It was such a normal thing for them already. Ichigo smiled as he remembered her initial reaction when he first offered the job to her.

"Hey Rukia... If you're the queen then who would you want to pick?"

Rukia raised an eyebrow at him. "Well its really by luck."

"I meant by preference."

Rukia thought about it got a moment." I wouldn't want to go around kissing people I don't know. I wouldn't want to kiss someone like Renji either, that would be just awkward. I guess I wouldn't mind picking you."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Me?"

"Please, kissing you is nothing new anymore."

Ichigo just nodded but the comment stung a bit. Not too much, just a bit. Ichigo saw the incoming park in the distance and had decided to stop by. Rukia eyes him weirdly but she followed him anyway. Ichigo sat on the nearest swing while Rukia sat on the neighboring swing wondering what's got Ichigo a tad but down.

"Is something the matter?"

He shook his head as he stared at the orange sky that had resembled his hair too much. "I just wanted to think for a moment."

"About what?"

"A lot of things... It's just been going so fast since I came to Karakura. Sometimes I just want to sit like this, it slows things down." he said as he absentmindedly swung round a bit.

Rukia snickered softly as she griped the ropes. "It doesn't sound like you at all."

He laughed through his nose and smiled. "It does feel different to sit next to someone here."

"Does that mean you sit here all the time?"

He nodded. "As a matter of fact I do... Whenever I sit here, I remember Germany..."

"What's it like there...? I'm poor so I don't think I can ever afford to go there. I don't even have a passport."

Ichigo smiled. "It's great... I don't think I can describe it to you. Maybe I can take you there someday." he said enthusiastically.

Rukia quickly shook her head. "I can't possibly... You shouldn't waste a yen on someone like me. It's Germany, it's expensive. Besides, that means I have to apply for a passport!" she quickly snapped at him.

He just laughed at her. Ichigo kicked against the ground and began to swing. "I don't mind... If it's you then I don't mind bringing you to Germany."

"Me...?"

He nodded. "My sisters are practically sick of seeing the same busty blonds I fools around with. They'll love you."

"Just because I'm different...?"

Ichigo paused for a moment and took note of the sudden drop in her tone. He faced her and flashed her a reassuring smile. "Different is good, trust me... You don't need to be tall and you don't need a big rack. You're great the way you are... Don't you think so too?"

She blushed and looked away. "Maybe."

"Be more confident Rukia, your looks are more than just adequate."

Beautiful, might he dare say but he didn't dare to.

"And besides Rukia, you can sing and you play the guitar like a pro."

Rukia was silent for a moment. She suddenly stood up from the swing making Ichigo stop. For some reason, she was now standing in front of him but her head was tilted down, he couldn't see her fantastic eyes. "Do you really mean that... For the past few days, I don't know whether you're lying or not with your reputation. Those little frauleins have been making blogs about you."

Ichigo kept his mouth shut. His comment about how old fashioned that German word was, he shoved if back down his throat. "Rukia... Look me in the eye."

She did so reluctantly, amber was connected with amethyst. "I'm going to tell you a lie Rukia, you'd be able to tell which among these is a lie."

She nodded.

"Rukia, You make me want to play the piano again and I am more than willing to play it again if it's for you."

"Out of all the girls in school, I would be happy to pick you if I was the king."

"I think I might just like you."

Rukia bit her lip as she stared at his burning eyes. She suddenly closed her eyes before she placed her hands on his shoulder. She went to her knees and rested her head against his chest. "You weren't lying at all."

He smiled. "See, you could tell."

"Idiot."

He just laughed at her.

"The third sentence... What does that mean?"

He smiled. "It means I lied."

She punched him in the stomach. "Liar..."

"You got me. Well... I just kinda blurted that one out actually... Ah well, even I don't understand myself so why don't we leave it at that?" Ichigo said.

"You are such an ass."

"That's because I'm your master."

Rukia stood up, she bit her lip as if she was steeling herself for something. She took another step closer and Ichigo found himself being pulled via shoulders. Before he knew it, he lips were on his. Rukia separated from him, a heated blush was staining her cheeks heavily and Ichigo didn't really know what to say. "Thanks for being honest with me..."

"And... I've always wanted to try those stuff I read in Mangas..." Rukia said in a strangled way.

He stood up and hugged her. "If you wanted to try the smut ones than I'm more than free to help you."

Rukia punched him in the stomach hard and he nearly doubled over from the pain. He grasped her shoulder for support and glared at her. "It was a joke! Jesus..."

She smirked. "Suits you right."

He got up. "Yeah, but imagine the contents of all those smut Mangas... Ah, sounds like fun huh...?"

"Ichigo."

"Okay... I'm sorry."

* * *

><p>Toshiro groaned as he walked with his hands behind his head. He yawned as he walked in the sunset going back home. On his way home, the usual empty park was occupied by two people. He raised and eyebrow and watched the couple. They were first swinging together before the girl stood up and kneeled for some reason. He continued to watch as the girl pecked the guy on the lips, the guy ended up hugging her and when Toshiro saw a glimpse of her face, his eye widened.<p>

"I didn't know she had a boyfriend..."

Toshiro shrugged as he took a few more steps into the park. He grinned and aced his hands in front of him as if he was going to shout out loud. "Hey Fubuki! You owe me a Perfect Grade Gundam 00 Raiser!"

Rukia jumped as she slowly turned around up face him, murder was written on her face but she was over the incident for the most part. She crossed her arms and smirked. "And you owe me a limited edition Jimi Hendrix pick Hitsugaya."

"I see you haven't gotten any taller."

"And your voice isn't any deeper."

"I swear, I don't know what Momo sees in you."

He narrowed his eyes on her. "And I don't understand why you're friends with her."

Silence prevailed before the two midgets began to laugh. Ichigo didn't understand a thing at all. Who was this white haired guy?

"Yeah yeah, good to see you too short stuff. You still owe me a can of Sakuma Drops."

"And you still owe me that bottle of strawberry Ramune from that bet"

"Hey Rukia..."

Rukia nearly forgot about Ichigo. "Oh right... Hitsugaya, this is Kurosaki Ichigo. He's my classmate and clubmate. Ichigo, this is Hitsugaya Toshiro, Momo's childhood friend and neighbor."

Ichigo extended his hand out of cordiality and Toshiro shook it out of politeness. "Nice to meet you."

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Okay, now that that's done, we really should get going Ichigo. Dinner isn't going to make itself." Rukia said as she took her bag from the ground.

Ichigo nodded as he took his. They had decided to leave the instruments at school so it was just their bags and some ingredient for dinner. They bid Toshiro farewell and they left accordingly. Toshiro watched them leave and saw how close they walked. For some reason, they stopped walking and Rukia smacked him on the head before walking again. Just before they exited Toshiro's line of sight, Ichigo grabbed her arm and landed a kiss on her.

It was a long kiss.

It made Rukia drop everything she was holding.

Toshiro sighed as he brought out his phone to take a picture. He got a clear shot and stowed the device away. He smiled as he turned around to walk away.

"Momo's gonna have a field day."

—

"Ahh... That's right." Nanao suddenly exclaimed out of nowhere.

He companions gave her an odd look. The one on the very right had black spiky hair with a sixty nine tattoo on his face. He raised an eyebrow and spoke with concern. "Is something the matter?"

Nanao shook her head as she drank her coffee sparingly. She put the reviewer down and looked outside the coffee shop window. The sunset was just being splendid outside but that wasn't her concern. She suddenly surged forward, surprising her companions.

"Hey Shuuhei, you remember that video our professor showed us on our lesson on Chopin?" Nanao asked as if she had struck gold or something remotely similar.

The man shrugged as he consulted the person beside him. "Hey Kira, do you remember?"

The blond man with a constipated face developed wrinkles just trying to remember that particular lesson. "Oh, you mean the kid prodigy playing Fantaisie-Impromptu?"

"Yeah him... Kurosaki... Ichiro was it?

"No... It's Kurosaki Ichigo." Nanao confirmed.

"Right... That Japanese born German natonalized kid right? He won a prestigious concour in Prague when he was nine years old. Doing the math, he'd be around seventeen now." Kira added.

"I wonder what happened to guy. He suddenly disappeared from the piano world... I remember what he looks like the most because he had a scowl throughout the whole performance and he had ridiculous orange hair but we all just assumed it was blond and that the lighting of the concert hall made his hair look orange." Shuuhei said as he drank his coffee in one fell swoop.

Nanao just looked out the window and smiled deviously.

"Interesting... He refuses to play the piano huh...?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So I have been away for a while but here is a new chapter for you guys, I'm slowly sorting out my issue because it's taboo for me to mention that I'm out of that issue... somehow, I get bad luck and I get stuck writing another chapter... sigh, of the block for now but we shall see if bad luck strikes again. <strong>

**I'll see if I can get another one out by next week.**

**Akabaka-chan Signing Off!**


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